Neon Rain
by Shinobi no Ryu
Summary: Gun Gale Online, the world's first PvP VRMMO. Given in a limited launch to only four thousand players, it will become one of modern histories greatest tragedies as the players struggle against each other to claim the title of strongest in a death game they've been trapped in. Only the strongest will win the Grand Ballad of Bullets, and only the strongest will survive. KiritoXSinon
1. Prologue

Hello everyone! Before we begin I'd like to say a couple of _**IMPORTANT THINGS. **_Got your attention I hope? No? Damn.

Well for those of you who are attracted to _**BIG LETTERS **_I need to explain a few things. Kazuto is going to be two years older here than he was in canon when he started SAO for certain reasons, and two, this story is going to be original in the sense that I'm building off of what we know of GGO, which is a fairly strong ground point, but there leaves a lot to be explained so most of it is going to be original content, feel free to check the SAO Wiki to find out the official information about GGO to get an understanding of whats mine and what's not. There will be some original characters, but they're going to be villians, as this story is going to be centric on Kirito and Sinon. Also, I will be bringing the Bullet of Bullets into play, but I'll be calling it the Ballad of Bullets. I really cannot think why it's called Bullet of Bullets, it's just so wrong.

And now for the final point which is going to be a _tad controversial. _I'm not sure at this exact moment how many of the original cast I'll be bringing over for reasons that might be clear due to the summary of this fanfiction. This isn't something I've cemented yet, as I'm still weighing the pros and cons of it. But before I bore you anymore with my long winded explanations, (YES, GET ON WITH IT.) allow me to put the final bit up!

DISCLAIMER FOR ALL THOSE WHO ARE REAL PRICKS ABOUT THE NITTY DETAILS: I don't own SAO, nor any of the characters within that are trademarked by the purposeful owner. I won't even take credit for my original characters as I'd never accept responsibility for my monstrosities I pass off as creative works.

Besides, IF I did I'd probably make the series rated NC-17 and give people psychological problems. And – (This is where you should walk away and start reading. ENJOY!)

XXXX_\_

_'Aim to be the best!' _

Sixteen year old Kazuto Kirigaya grinned like a child, rolling back and forth on his computer chair, as he re-read the slogan on the box art for Gun Gale Online. It was the first VRMMO and the first game to feature the upgraded NervGear, which until now had been in development stages. Although GGO was an American made game by the company Zaskar, it was co-developed with the Japanese company Argus due to the involvement of the NervGear. It was the first time a game had been made by two international companies, making it quite the topic of excitement. It was announced that the game would have a limited launch a week early in Japan, with only four-thousand players given access through invitation only.

He still couldn't believe he'd been chosen for not only the beta, but the limited launch as well! He still remembered the swell of pride he felt when the official e-mail came into his inbox, explaining he'd been chosen due to his overall excellent performance in both previous games and the beta. That of course meant that all the players chosen for the limited launch would be hardcore gamers like himself.

While he wasn't the biggest fan of futuristic MMO's, the tantalizing idea of fighting to become the greatest player in a game made his heart race. Besides, even in cyberpunk setting of GGO, swords were still something a player could acquire, and from his month of beta testing he'd learned that any of the melee weapons were capable of deflecting any shot. His wild sixteen year old mind danced with the possibilities, imagining how cool he would become, the only player in a gun centric game to master the sword and rise above them all.

He checked the time on his desktop, it was eleven forty five, just another fifteen minutes until the servers came online. He had another full week off until school started back up and he planned to make the most of it. He'd already eaten his full and taken a bath, nothing was going to stop him until he'd pass out from exhaustion. Snatching his NervGear from the desk, he put the already calibrated device onto his head and lied down, plugging in the power cord and reading the digital readout on the visor as it powered to life. With the head set now intercepting his nervous system's commands, he navigated to GGO's icon and opened it. His vision was transformed to nothing but white as his mind was taken over by the FullDive technology and he no longer felt as if he existed in reality.

He input his information, knowing he had to have been grinning in the real world as the words _Link Start! _Appeared and he found himself at the character creation screen. _Alright, _he thought, _Let's get my beta avatar loaded up and tweaked while I wait for the servers. _The image of his in game avatar Kirito appeared, he'd did his best to look more manly and heroic, something he wasn't in real life. He would have squirmed with excitement if he could have.

XXXX

When he took his first breath and his eyes opened, he was reminded of just how perfect the NervGear replicated the five senses. He could hear the sounds of excited chatter, smell the grunge of the city, the feel of a warm breeze, and even taste the saliva in his own mouth. He took in the sights of the player spawn area, currently loaded with awestruck players who had yet to experience FullDive technology, as they beheld the capital city, Space Battle Ship Glocken.

From what he memorized about the game's lore, GGO was set in a post-apocalyptic earth, where humanity had made the planet inhabitable for centuries due to a global war. To survive, what was left of humanity fled to space, where they lived a meager existence for centuries until their crippled planet could once more support some form of life. The players assumed the roles of the first generation born on earth again, after the only city on earth had been established and was ruled by two mega corporations, Yokohama Universal Industries and the Fuller Corporation. Both served as a type of government, and represented employment for players. It was basically the way to explain GGO's quest system, or Jobs, as it was called.

The two corporations were in a race to see who could reach the inner heart of the advanced civilization their forefathers had left behind deep under the earth, just below SBC Glocken. No one knew how far it descended, but it was the major focus of the PvE portion of the game, beyond the numerous ruins of the old earth that stretched for miles over open desert, the developers claimed it would take years for players to explore it all.

He rubbed his hands together, moving with large strides as he circumvented the masses of players who all sat around chatting and exploring the new system. He'd already had time to acclimate, if he wanted to get the best head start he could, he needed to hurry to the outlying desert where the low level mobs would be and –

His thoughts were cut off as he slammed into someone, knocking them down.

"_Ow! _Hey, watch it!"

"I-I'm sorry, I -" Kirito's words stammered out, as he realized he'd knocked over a beautiful girl around his age. She had short blue hair, her enraged eyes that bore into his matching in color with her hair. She wore the plain and drab looking starting gear, which for girls was a sleeveless version of the male white shirt and black pants. His eyes caught sight of a small pin on her collar, which was a free item given to beta players. Realizing he was staring, he blushed holding out his hand. "Sorry, I'm just too excited right now." He tried to give a manly smile, using his avatar's good looks to his advantage.

The girl let out a curt, "Hmph." before standing on her own, leaving Kirito's hand alone, causing the boy to retract it with a nervous laugh. "Whatever, just be more careful." She turned on her heel and walked off, leaving Kirito feeling lost as he watched her go. He found his eyes dropping to her rear, but snapped his eyes back up, his face red. _Gah, I couldn't have possibly looked more like an idiot than I had! _He berated himself as he grumbled and hurried off, not able to shake the thought that he'd like to see her again.

XXXX

It'd taken a few hours, but he'd finally outfitted himself with all the equipment he could, making sure to load up on medkits. He patted the black steel sword on his back, it's design much cooler than he'd expected from a sci-fi game. It was what cost him most of his money, but he'd rather use it it than the cruddy pistol he'd been given at creation. He'd considered better armor too, but since he could just dodge around the things he'd be fighting he wouldn't have much need for it.

The automated train he rode shook, sending sparks out from it's magnetic wheels, as it continued towards the edge of town where he could exit Glocken. Kirito found himself entranced, staring out the train's window, the neon lights of the city playing across his face. Every sort of advertisement for in game products flashed on projected screens that floated in the afternoon sky, which he couldn't help but be impressed by. Many of these features hadn't been included with the beta, he supposed Argos/Zaskar saved the best for last. They'd really did everything they could to faithfully recreate the feeling of a gritty, dystopian, cyberpunk society. His nose wrinkled as he smelt what was possibly a recreation of dried urine on the train, perhaps they went too far.

He glanced around the empty train, finding he was the only player on it. He took that as a sign that many of the beta players might be resting on their laurels; More loot for him. He'd already pulled off the lapel that had been given to him as a beta player, it didn't have any stats and the last thing he wanted was for a new player to bug him for help when he had his own problems to focus on.

_Attention, we will be arriving at the western gate shortly, I repeat . . . _The synthesized train's AI voice droned out the information three times, also displaying what it spoke on a LED bar in bright red English, followed by Kanji.

Kirito headed for the sliding glass doors, staring ahead at the giant looming wall that separated the safe zone from the wasteland beyond. His right fist began shaking, the first steps to his journey began here. Here, he could become the hero he wanted to be.

Screw reality.

XXXX

Kirito skid as he sprinted around the corner of the destroyed office building corridor, the sound of glass crunching under his foot. He struggled to breathe, gasping for air, pushing his body as hard as he could hearing the growling mutant behind him snapping it's jaws as it chased him. _What the hell?! _He thought, leaping over a knocked over chair, hearing the beast slam through the debris like it was paper. _This building only had zombies in it during beta, not some mutant wolves! _He'd already killed one of the beasts that had tried to jump him, nearly tearing out his throat in the process. A second one had been not too far behind, both at Lv.5, the fact he'd been able to kill the first one was sheer dumb luck with two critical strikes.

A fork was coming up, left or right, he couldn't remember which way went where. He grit his teeth, feeling the hot diseased breath of the mutant on him. He chose right! Sliding around the corner, his face fell, but he didn't dare stop running. It was a dead end, a large shattered wall window being the only thing at the end of the hall. The thing was right behind him, he felt the air pressure from its jaw snapping on his heel. A plan hatched in his mind. The was only a few feet to the window, and he heard the wolf let out a monstrous bark as it lunged and he threw himself to the ground. He felt the wind breaking over his body as he skid on the broken glass that littered the floor from the line of shattered wall windows.

The monster let out a yelp as it realized it made a fatal error and the momentum of it's leap sent it straight out the broken window, howling as it plummeted ten stories below.

Kirito lay still, his breathing ragged and hard, to the point where he completely forgot he was in a game. The fear and adrenaline he'd felt was very real, along with the pain of small cuts he received all over his torso from the shattered glass. He flipped over onto his back, just as the mob slammed into the ground below, a small pop up appearing before him telling him how much EXP and Credits he earned, along with an item, a single Wolf Pelt.

He cleared the readout with an exhausted tap on it's screen, his arm falling back down to the dirty carpet below him. He rolled his head over wincing as he saw the setting sun setting on the desert, through the destroyed wall that once was lined with roof to floor windows. Every single sensation he'd felt here so far was indistinguishable from reality, they'd even improved the quality of the image the NervGear gave, to where it no longer held the faint static image like a screen would have.

Though, he thought, he could do without the negative effects of such realism, like being completely winded after running through the building. There was a reason he was out of shape in the real world, he hated cardio. At least his in game avatar had better stamina or he might have been a mutant's lunch. Checking his HP, it was still full – he'd managed to avoid getting hit; a minor miracle in his book.

He took a final deep breath, before pulling himself up off the floor, dusting off the sand that coated him and the small shards of glass. Taking a glance at his status, he grumbled. The EXP bonus from beta wasn't present and it looked like they increased how much it would take to get to even level two by an exponential amount. Even with exploring this ruin and killing the mutant rats and zombies as he had only yielded a tenth of what he needed. Well, at least with this much loot, he should get plenty of credits to –

"_Help!" _

Kirito snapped his head over towards where the sound echoed from outside, immediately throwing himself to the wall and away from the windows. The panicked male voice screamed out again, and Kirito edged over to the window that the mutant had leaped out of, peeking his head around the corner.

At ground level, he saw someone with long red hair tied, a bandana wrapped around his forehead, running in a frenzied panic across the open desert for the building, with two players chasing after him shooting their guns into the air, laughing. Kirito cursed, the last thing he needed was to worry about was player killers, and the idiot was leading them right into the building that only had one exit.

He pushed away from the wall and ran back towards the start of the hall where he'd remembered there being elevators. If he was gonna have any chance of surviving this, he'd have to help that player fight off the PK'ers, because as soon as they saw the ruin was littered with dead mobs, they'd start searching for him.

Reaching the elevator, he drew his sword and jammed it between the ancient steel doors, prying them open with a heave as he did so. Once it was open enough to wedge his body in, he used himself to open it the rest of the way, revealing the elevator shaft. Peering down, the dark shaft was illuminated by the light that poured in from behind Kazuto, dust particles dancing in the light. The elevator was stuck at the far bottom, where it'd remained since humanity abandoned it. Another cry for help echoed up through the shaft, telling him they were already inside.

Kazuto let out a harsh exhale, blowing it through pursed lips as he sheathed his sword. "This is really stupid." He spoke shaking his head, taking a few steps back and staring at the taut steel cable that once moved the elevator. "This is really, _really _stupid." But, it was just a game, right?

Kicking off into a full sprint, he jumped and let out a startled yell, grabbing onto the steel cable as tight as he could and before he could relish that he'd managed to grab it, he began plummeting down, as red sparks of damage chipped off his avatar in a flashy display. He let out a grunt of pain, actually feeling the sensation of flesh being torn from his hands, although the avatar wasn't advanced enough to degrade or he might actually run out of hand before he got to the bottom. He wrapped his legs around the wire, trying to keep his wits as he fell at an even pace that still felt far too fast for him. Glancing up at his HP, he was at eighty percent, he was losing near two percent every second. He grit his teeth, and looked down just in time to see the elevator as he crashed into it, a loud bang echoing through the shaft, taking an insignificant amount of fall damage, but it still _hurt_ like hell.

He pulled himself to his feet, rubbing his backside, already looking for the emergency hatch on the top of the elevator, as he could now hear loud shouting, the words being disrupted by the thick steel walls. He found it – in the corner of the elevator, a squared area marked with faded and chipped red and white striped emergency paint. He again used his sword as leverage to pry open the rusted hatch, and dropped down into the decayed elevator cage. As he fell, he kept himself crouched when he landed, remembering the doors on the ground level had fallen off.

"Just give us all your stuff and we'll let you live, _we promise._" A gruff voice taunted.

"Aw come on, I'm new to this, can't you guys give me a break!? If I give you all my stuff I won't have anything!"

"Heh, you should have thought about that _before _you left the safe area you stupid idiot. Now either hand over your stuff or we'll take it from your corpse."

Kirito crept along, the elevator's had partial cover from a marble half wall that raised up about three feet, serving as a type of hand rail for the raised pathway that led to the elevators from the main lobby. Peeking his head up over the marble, he saw the two PK'ers dressed in a low level set of vendor gear, giving off the cliché look of Mexican bandits that he'd seen used in other media – they even had six shooters, it was a nice touch, he thought. At least they dressed the part they played. His eyes narrowed as he saw the pins attached to their wool panchos, marking them as beta players.

Turning his head, he couldn't help but sigh as he saw their red headed victim. He was dressed in starting gear, he didn't even bother to upgrade any basic equipment with the starting credits. He almost wanted to let them rob him to teach him a lesson. Kirito shook his head though, he couldn't bring himself to ignore the idiot, even if he'd been asking for a bullet.

Kirito vaulted over the wall in one smooth motion, drawing his sword as he landed. The two bandits jumped, spinning to level their guns at him while the red head newbie just looked on in shock. "Who the hell are you?!" One shouted, pulling the hammer back on his gun, shifting his gaze between the two.

Kirito gave a shrug, keeping a smug look on his face. If he was going to act like a hero, might as well play the part. "Just a random passerby. I couldn't help but notice you two were giving this newbie a hard time. That's not exactly polite now is it?" Oh yeah; _Nailed it_.

The bandit scoffed eying Kirito's sword. "Are you freaking kidding me? _A sword?" _He laughed, elbowing his friend as he dropped his guard. "What kind of idiot brings a sword to gun game?"

"A dead one." The other chuckled, his eyes turning deadly as he pulled back his hammer and put the sight directly over Kirito's face. "_Adios_, idiot."

Kirito smirked as the prediction line appeared, settling right between his eyes.

"Hey, look out!" The newbie cried, just as the shot rang out, making him flinch.

At the exact same time, a loud _clang _rang out, as Kirito's sword cut through the air and the bullet, making it slam into two spots behind him.

The bandit's jaw dropped, stunned. Kirito charged, while they both still sat with their jaws open. The first bandit cursed and brought his gun up in a wild shot, but the swordsman dodged it by pushing his body right, and then lunging forward. "Sh-" was all he got out before the sword punctured his torso, his health dropping immediately to zero, a small icon appearing over his body reading DEAD.

"Jun!" The other one exclaimed, putting the barrel of his gun against Kirito's skull, but just as he pulled the trigger, his opponent moved with blinding speed with a spin, and he found his arm severed from the elbow. He screamed out as the pain felt almost real, but locked eyes with the swordsman holding a taunting grin.

"_Adios_!" Kirito taunted, before lashing out with a decapitating strike.

The red head stared in shock as the last of his would-be robbers fell to the ground with the DEAD indicator popping up over him. He watched as his savior flicked his sword once, before sheathing it. "C. . . _Cool!" _He roared before charging up to Kirito and grabbing his hand, making the teen shout in surprise as the red-head shook it with abandon. "I can't believe how freaking _cool_ you were man! Just how the heck did you do that with a _sword?!_"

Kirito's mask of heroism broke as he tried to pry his hand free from the wild shake, managing to yank it away as he massaged his wrist. "Thanks, I guess." He muttered out, this is why he disliked newer players.

The newbie slapped himself on the head, looking ashamed. "I'm sorry!" He spoke, giving Kirito a deep bow fast enough to almost snap his spine. "Thank you for saving my life!" He rose from his bow with a huge grin, extending his hand. "The name's Klein, what's yours?"

Kirito let out an amused sigh, he might be annoying but it was rather endearing. He reached out and took the outstretched hand. "Kirito. You know you shouldn't really be wandering around out here without at least some newer equipment."

Klein chuckled scratching the back of his head. "I kinda figured that after those two tried to chase me down. Shooting the gun wasn't like how I thought it was gonna be at all. First time I've ever played a sci-fi MMO."

Kirito's jaw cracked open, his mouth agape. "How the heck did you get an invitation . . ." he didn't mean to ask it so bluntly, but it was the only thing he could think to say.

Klein gave a nervous laugh. "Well, to be honest, it's my friends game, but he had to work today so he let me give it a shot 'cause he's trying to talk me into playing it with him." He pulled his hands up rotating them to look at them. "To be honest with you, even though I'm a new at this, I really can't wait to play more. I still can't believe how real this is!"

Kirito gave a small laugh. He guessed that there would be a handful of cases where the invited players wouldn't be pros. "Well, you should get back to the main city." He bent over on one of the corpses, raising his eyebrow at the fact neither of them released yet to respawn in Glocken. Might be a bug that was left over from the beta test. Oh well, they'd just get to watch him loot their corpses.

"O-Oi, Kirito, that's kind disrespectful, don't you think?" Klien asked, looking at the corpse looter with some worry.

Kirito tossed an amused smirk over his shoulder. "It's part of the games mechanics. If you die in PvP the player that killed you gets to loot your stuff, with the exception of a few pieces that are randomly chosen." He didn't add the fact that none of their pieces were reserved, making them all loot able. He picked up a representation for two hundred credits, along with one of the revolvers. "Here." He said, opening a trade window with Klien. "Take it, get yourself back to town and some actual gear."

Klien looked between the trade window and Kirito, giving the teen a huge grin before hitting accept. "You know, you're okay in my book Kirito! Wanna be friends?" He stopped with a chuckle. "Er, guess I shouldn't be asking that when this isn't my account."

Kirito laughed, standing up after looting the rest of their gear and weapons, leaving two avatars in their small clothes. "Well, how about you look me up after you get a copy in the full launch?"

Klien nodded with a grin and stuck his fist out, "You know it!" His grin grew as Kirito tapped his fist with his own, sealing their brotherhood in his mind. He then looked up at Kirito's head, his eyebrow raised. "Say, what's with the orange icon?" Kirito's head dropped, his long hair hanging around his face. "Uh, Kirito?"

Kirito let out a long depressed sigh as he squatted down. He'd completely forgotten. "It's a feature they put in for PvP. If you kill a player outside of defense or in registered matches your branded as a criminal." He brought his head up propping it up with his arm that rested on his knee. "I'm gonna have to pay off my bounty if I want it gone. That and people will probably give me a bit of a wide berth. . ." He groaned in his head. He forgot to let them get a shot off on him first, they both weren't orange players yet so until they'd actually damaged someone they were considered white.

He still didn't understand _why _that rule was in place, they encouraged PvP here! He figured it was so that players could roleplay criminals who got huge bounties on their heads so that powerful bounty hunters would try for the prize. He supposed that was a cool notion, but he didn't want to be that kind of player.

Klien let out a remorseful cry as he stumbled back. "Ah, crap, and you got that cause you were protecting me!" He dropped to his knees shuffling his hair as he let out a comical roar. He then froze, snapping his fingers. "Here! Take this," he stumbled with his in-game menu, trying to get a trade window open. When he did, all his credits appeared in the trade window. "Take it man, I can't just leave you hanging like this!"

Kirito pushed the trade window away, canceling it. "Stuff it, just get yourself some better gear so you can defend yourself next time, alright?" He gave a small shrug. "Besides, I got a lot of credits from this place, I'll be able to pay off my bounty easy."

Klien looked unhappy about it, but nodded, slamming a clenched fist against his chest. "Alright, I'll just have to make it up to you some other way, it's a man's promise!." He then looked surprised as a message popped up in front of him, noticing it showed for Kirito too. "What the heck – _automatic transfer?_" Klien read out in broken English.

Kirito was about to say something as well, before he felt himself being teleported along with Klien, both letting out a small yell as they disappeared from the broken ruins.

XXXX

Kirito's ears exploded with noise, making him slap his hands to his ears before he even realized where he had materialized to. The sensation of getting off a spinning chair assaulted him, making him wobble for a moment before he found the ability to stand upright. Looking around, wincing from the noise still, he saw he was in the crowded main street that led to the corporation high rises of SBC Glocken, and it was packed from end to end with players, all shouting and trying to figure out what happened. The city was dark, as the looming city blocked the last rays of sunlight, with only the neon lights to give illumination. He lowered his hands and shook his head.

"Kirito! You alright man?"

He turned, seeing Klien looking just as bad as he felt. "Ugh, yeah. But damn that teleport felt weird." He grunted as he felt someone's elbow hit into his side. "Watch it!"

Klien nodded, rubbing his stomach as he grew nauseous. "Why the hell are we here anyway? Are they gonna do this sort of thing often?"

Kazuto shook his head. "They probably have some kind of world event going on. Probably the opening ceremony." He heard Klien give an understanding 'Oh.' "But, why they couldn't have given some warning first is beyond me." Before he could say anything more, a loud musical tone bleated off in three notes, gaining everyone's attention as a massive screen at the end of the street, installed into the front of a building came to life, SBC Glocken's icon appearing on the screen on a black backdrop.

Everyone stared at the odd sight, drenched in the neon glow of the cities main road. "_Greetings." _A female voice called out, it held a distinct synthetic tone to it, labeling it as a type of AI. _"I am Aya, an artificial intelligence chosen to oversee this tournament you have all been selected for." _Murmurers spread throughout the crowd, as everyone tried to figure out what tournament it spoke of. _"As many of you have become aware, the log out feature in your menu has disappeared." _

Kirito's brow knitted as he swiped his finger down to check his menu, finding that what the AI spoke was true. He felt a cold sweat break on his brow as he glanced back up at the screen, the static logo now seeming far more ominous.

"_This is an intended feature. I repeat, this is an intended feature." _Every face that stared at the screen was frozen in shock, some in horror. _"Now then, until the strongest player is proven through the Grand Ballad of Bullets, no one shall be allowed to leave the game."_

Kirito's mouth hung in shock as he processed the information. The Ballad of Bullets was a feature announced in development, a yearly tournament that would pit the strongest players against each other to win a prize of real money. But he'd never heard of a _Grand _Ballad of Bullets.

"_Furthermore, as an additional feature, when your avatar's HP reaches zero, you do not respawn, nor can you be resurrected. When this happens, the microwave emitter in the back of your NervGear will overcharge and will destroy your brain, thus killing you immediately. This will also occur if someone from the outside attempts to remove your headgear or power it down." _

Panicked screams erupted on the main road, as some openly wept and fell to their knees. Klien's eyes were wide, his pupils shaking as he turned to look at Kirito. "H-Hey, Kirito, this isn't real. . .right?" His voice shook as he saw that Kirito looked just as freaked out as he did.

Kirito didn't hear Klien, he barely heard anything. His mind was paralyzed from the information, as it repeated itself over and over again in his mind. He shook, as the two bandits he'd killed sprung to his mind. They couldn't possibly be dead, this all had to be some sick joke. He couldn't have just committed murder.

"_If you doubt this, look to the screen." _Images of real world news channels appeared on the television, splitting the screen into nine separate feeds. _"__M__ajor news outlets around the world reporting on this now. You can rest easy knowing that your tournament will not be prematurely ended by outside forces, __though one hundred and fifteen fellow players were not as lucky__." _Each news station had detailed reports of players all around Japan being taken to hospitals due to the incident, after receiving word from an anonymous source

Kirito collapsed to his knees, the irrefutable proof shining bright upon the gigantic screen a hundred feet away. His stomach churned and his mind swam. The sky above crackled with thunder, as dark clouds rolled in unseen.

"Why the hell are you doing this to us!?" A voice from the faceless mass called out, with similar cries rising to meet his.

"_Gun Gale Online is a game created to find the greatest player, the one whom would receive the title of the strongest, in order to determine who among you is they, the proper stakes must be set forward."_

"_In order to survive and claim the title of strongest, you must win the Grand Ballad of Bullets that will work as a series of team elimination tournaments hosted every six months by the two ruling corporations of the remnants of humanity, Yokohama Universal Industries and the Fuller Corporation."_

"_Each tournament will be comprised of sixteen contestants, as mercenaries, you will choose which corporation to work for, however there will always be as close to an even number as possible, ensuring that the game progresses at the intended pace. This will continue until only sixteen players remain, and then the final round will be a free-for-all to determine whom among you shall be crowned the victor." _

"_As of this moment, of the four thousand whom logged in, only three thousand nine hundred and eighty three remain. You all answered the call to prove yourselves in this arena. Now you have the chance, the real chance, to do so. Good luck, players." _

"_Aim to be the best." _

The screen blinked out, and a large crack of thunder sounded as rain fell upon the city in a thick layer, drenching those who stood frozen. The neon lights that surrounded were distorted by the rain and spread their glow across the city in a mixture of color. The unnatural shock that held the crowd only remained so long, as cries and screams began to cut through the roar of the rainfall. Protesting screams were lost like tears in the rain as players struggled to make sense of their reality.

Kirito's hair was plastered to his face, his breathing was harsh and shook. His arms trembled, and he stumbled back a step. This wasn't some joke. It was real, and he'd killed two people. His hands were now coated with blood.

Klein was snapped from his stare as he saw Kirito move. "Oi, Kirito -" he began, before cutting himself off with a shout as Kirito turned and ran, knocking aside two men who were just staring at the ground. Klein cursed and chased after him, trying to keep up as the throng of people slowed him down.

Kirito ran. He didn't care who he ran into or knocked over as he moved. He needed to get away before anyone saw his orange icon. A dark alley showed itself, he aimed for it. _"Kirito! Wait!" _He heard, and he grit his teeth as he willed his legs to keep pushing forward, but he found himself slowing.

Klein hunched over, breathing hard, trying to ignore the smell of the dark alleyway. He picked his head up and stared at the immobile Kirito, half his body concealed by the dark shadow and the other lit up by the pink restaurant sign that just lit up the first few feet of the alley. "Where are you going?! This isn't the time to get separated! If what that thing said is true we're in big trouble!" Klien took a step forward.

"_Stop." _Kirito spoke curtly, causing Klein to freeze. "Don't follow me." His voice trembled, just barely.

"But -"

"_Don't you get it?!" _Kirito shouted, half turning his head, his bangs hiding his eyes from the startled Klein. "We. . . We're. . ." he struggled to find the words, of how to explain to the man he'd started to consider a strange friend that they were enemies. ". . .I killed two people, Klein. You can't be around me."

"You did nothing like that!" Klein replied, his voice tinged with heavy emotion, as the realization came to him that if Kirito hadn't stepped in, the two players might have killed him for fun, without understanding that they would have really killed him. "If you hadn't . . .Kirito, you saved my life!"

"Maybe. But other players won't know that. Just leave Klein, use the credits I gave you and go." Kirito's fist clenched.

Klein knit his eyebrows and stomped forward. "I'm not going to abandon you Kirito, you're my friend and _I_ -" a sound of steel scraping against a sheath sounded, and Klein found the tip of a sword pressed against his throat, making him shout in surprise. His eyes locked onto Kirito's obsidian eyes, hard and dangerous in the low light as rain trailed down his face.

"Don't make me repeat myself. _Go. Away._"

Klein swallowed, his face crestfallen. He backed away a step, and the sword was sheathed. His pursed mouth cracked to speak, but stopped short as he saw the look on his friend's face. _Kirito. . . _He watched as Kirito turned, his threatening mask cemented. He could only watch, as his friends back was swallowed whole by the darkness of the alley, the echo of his footsteps soon overshadowed by the incessant rain.

XXXX

Underneath SBC Glocken in a massive hollowed out part of the earth, was the belly of the beast, the slums of the great city that sunlight never reached. Here, the buildings were made from old scrap and reused parts of the original SBC Glocken, the pieces that were rejected for the majestic realm above. Several massive support pillars rose from above the steel piecemeal buildings, which supported the main part of SBC Glocken. The streets were tight and packed with people, filled with smoke from restaurants, the smell of cheap perfume and blood permeating the filthy air.

This underground slum was pockmarked by gambling dens, whores, underground fighting rings and everything in between. Here the criminal element of GGO could reside, where one went to escape the pristine safe zone, an area of the city where anything and everything was allowed. Among the throng of NPC's that followed their programming to walk the town and make it as populated as possible, Kirito stood enraged as he held the liaison NPC up by his collar, forgetting that intimidation couldn't work on a program.

"What the hell do you mean I can't pay off my bounty?!" He screamed, his fists shaking as he glared at the comical NPC that was made to look like an ugly balding midget in a pinstriped black suit, it's face deformed to look like a cross between a pig and a mutant. The freaks breath smelled of horrid garlic and rotting meat. They stood in front of a large neon advertisement that morphed from green to pink, changing the hue every few seconds.

"You know who you're touching wise guy?!" The NPC repeated as it had over and over again, due to a players touch. Kirito shook with rage and fear, as a notification popped up in front of him, a yellow caution sign heading the message.

_Due to changes in the game, players can no longer pay off their bounty in order to discourage killing outside of the BoB. It can still be removed upon death. Thank you for your understanding. _

He dropped the NPC, making it fall to the steel ground below with a low thud. It soon picked itself back up, walking to it's anchor point just besides Kirito. A lit cigar that had fallen from his hand before materialized between his pudgy fingers that were covered with gold rings. It turned it's abnormal head towards Kirito, "What can I do for ya boss? You look like the type who gets his hands dirty, hehe, perfect for buisness." He snorted, a very pig like snort, before smoothing back the greasy ring of hair around the back of his head.

Kirito stared down at the filthy street, littered with trash, as he ignored the smell of a rotting fruit that lingered nearby. "My bounty. . . how much is my bounty?" he asked, his voice devoid of emotion.

"Hmm." The piglet took the cigar in his scarred lips, as he shoved one hand under his suit, pulling out a PDA. "Kirito. Bounty: 20,000 credits." A mini screen appeared in front of Kirito, it held tools to navigate all the criminals listed in the game, his was the only one that appeared, one out of one result. His finger shook as he pressed his name, bringing up a more detailed screen. The photo icon only had a greyed out bust of a male, with a question mark filling it in.

_Wanted; Kirito. For two counts of murder, for an amount of 20,000 credits to be payed upon successful kill. _

The gray screen that carried his sins brought his reality to him in full, along with the knowledge that he was now a marked man, and everyone would know he was a murderer. He didn't know what to think, what to feel. He stumbled from the NPC, who reset it's standing position. He began to aimlessly walk through the throng of NPC's, uncaring that this area was not safe, that he could be killed by a player or an aggressive NPC.

His head raised up, looking at nothing, as some of the NPC's spoke to him as they passed, all it falling on deaf ears. He was surrounded by replications of humans, the NPC's that passed him were diverse, two never looking the same, giving the city a very alive and lived in vibe – yet he knew that they were as soulless as rocks. He felt so very alone.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" A chuckling voice called out.

Kirito turned his head, his eyes hollow and emotionless. Behind him stood three mafia looking NPC's, dressed in fancy clothing and jewelry, their faces covered in scars, red names appearing to label them as Criminal. "Go away, leave me be." He mumbled, he knew the NPC's wouldn't listen.

"I think we should show this little punk to not walk in places he shouldn't be allowed!" One mob cackled, before all three pulled out a knife.

Kirito's teeth grit, his eyes flaring to life with fire. All the days events coming to him in a flashing scenes. He was a murderer, he'd killed two people. He was engaged in a game where he was expected to kill in order to live. That if he ever wanted to escape this hellish reality, he would need to win – _to kill_. He didn't want to hurt anyone, he just wanted to have fun in a game. But now he stood, the first killer in a game full of people destined to die. He didn't want this. _He didn't want any of this! _

He screamed, loud and furious he screamed. The NPC's didn't register it, and moved to attack with cackling laughter. Kirito turned and tore his sword from it's sheath. He slashed, cut and tore with each and every attack his mind red from madness and grief. He felt tears pour down his face as he felt pain cutting through him, both mentally and physically. He did not care.

When the haze lifted, he stood in the middle of the road, the Criminals all defeated. A notification appeared before him, he had cleared a rare event spawn. He glanced at the item it'd given him, a rare Black Cloak. He equipped it, not bothering to look at the stats. The clothing materialized onto him, and he flipped the hood onto himself, noting there was a loose piece of cloth he could pull up to cover his nose, fully covering his face, with only his stony eyes exposed.

He sheathed his sword behind the cloak and glanced at his HP, he was in the red. Even with the understanding he almost died, he felt nothing. Using a medkit, his HP was returned to full. He took a final look at the Criminals, their bodies dismembered and littering the ground in what would be a gory mess, covered in sword slashes to where there was more of their red frame work exposed than actual character.

He turned and walked away, swallowed up by the throng of NPCs as he plunged himself deeper into the slums.

This was reality. And nothing he could do would allow him to escape it.

XXXX

A bit shorter than usual, but this is the prologue so I hope you can forgive it. Sinon didn't get any air time besides her small introduction, but fear not you'll be seeing more of her soon.

I truly hope I'll be able to keep everyone's interest with this, as this is unexplored territory for us all. Kirito will not be the same as you remember his from SAO, though I hope to keep him as close to the original as I can, while still showing how being involved in this mire of death will affect him.

Please do review and favorite, the next chapter shan't be far off, and I'd love to hear your hopes and likes and criticisms for my work! Get ready, cause if I have my way I'm gonna be putting all of us on a wild ride!

Until Next Time!

Shinobi no Ryu


	2. The Black Swordsman

Hello everyone and welcome to more _**IMPORTANT NEWS! **_

Before we begin, I just want to explain that two of the characters introduced this chapter are already in the series, Dyne and Ginrou, both of whom were with Sinon in her introductory episode. Their characters will be a bit different from what they were in canon, but only because they're going to be major characters. If you don't remember them, look them up on the Sword Art Online Wiki, for refreshers on what they look like!

Sinon and Klein have new outfits too, at least until they find new gear at higher levels. I hope everyone likes them.

Ready for chapter 2? I know I am! Let's start the show!

EDIT: Okay, so I've basically done a reworking of a few of the scenes. I did this for a few reasons but one of the biggest ones was that I made Sinon way too OOC. Some is to be slightly expected due to the circumstances, but I went too far and it took some keen eyes belonging to Agent 94 who has been an invaluable critic that's really helped me.

So I encourage a re-read of this chapter and see what's changed, although nothing major plot wise has changed, only Sinon's behaviour and a few hints at upcoming parts.

XXXX

"Hey, did you hear, about the one they call ‹‹The Black Swordsman››?"

The vintage hotel bar of Galactic Cruise was quiet, it's gentle atmosphere encouraged by it's NPC staff and players alike. Soft synthetic combined with elements of jazz music floated from hidden speakers to soothe it's guests, along with it's warm lighting, wooden walls, soft colors, and luxurious accommodations.

Dyne glared over the edge of his crystal glass, the taste of the whiskey now sour. He set the glass down on the varnished hardwood table, the ice clinking. "Ginrou, how many times have I told you, don't bring things like that up when I'm trying to drink?" He smoothed his hair back, letting out a sigh, missing the weight of his cowboy hat. "Besides, you can't actually believe that ghost story? There's no one out there who can do half the things he's rumored of, especially with a_ sword._" He growled out the last word.

Ginrou thin eyes quivered as he ran his finger over the edge of his goggles in a nervous tick. "H-How else can you explain how people have found some of those bodies? Guns don't _slice people in half!" _He almost shouted, sweat pouring down his face.

It was loud enough to where other patrons of the bar all glared over at their booth, making Dyne cover his face with his hand. "Keep yer damn voice down you idiot!" He hissed out, making Ginrou sink into his seat sheepishly. Dyne cursed under his breath, snatching his glass and downing the expensive amber liquid in one go, the taste no longer pleasant. He dropped the glass with a loud clink, just his luck to get stuck in a game of death with a lousy partner – he was getting too old for this shit! "How the hell did I ever get stuck with such a wimp like you?" His frown deepened as he saw Ginrou's face turn into a lecherous blush, the insult never even registering, and turned to see what woman he was eyeballing this time, though he had a good guess.

"You two are certainly making a ruckus. I really don't think you're suited for such a nice bar – perhaps you'd be better off in the slums with the rest of the rejects?"

A lone woman walked up besides them, with bright blue hair framing a cute face and icy cold blue eyes, her mouth set in a half-smile. She wore a skintight, white, high collar sleeveless leotard, a brown aviator leather jacket with white fur on the collar, a large patch on the back of it that had an image of a winged goddess wrapped around a sniper rifle with the words '_LOVELY ANGEL'_ bordering it's top and bottom. Her hands covered with worn leather black fingerless gloves. Dark blue denim jeans held a gun belt with a black steel G21 Glock handgun secured to her waist along with a myriad of tools and spare magazines. A single knife was stuffed in a thigh holster above tightly laced combat boots that the jeans rested over the tops of.

"H-Hi, Sinon!" Ginrou sputtered out, trying to get the beautiful girl to look his way.

Dyne gave the girl a half empty glare, only mildly miffed at the jab, scooting over so she could sit down, noting the absolute look of rejection Ginrou held as she did so. He almost felt sorry for the kid, but it's what happens when you try to hit on a woman who wants nothing to do with you, especially when she's point blank told you no. He looked towards Sinon as she opened up a digital menu, selecting a drink, "Well, where's the other one?"

Sinon shrugged as she picked out a simple glass of iced tea, she avoided alcohol, just because she could drink doesn't mean she wanted to. "Knowing him, he's running late due to this or that, I'm sure he'll have a fine excuse when he arrives." Pressing accept, she heard the soft clink of the machine under the table, as her drink came out in a tall thin glass, a wedge of lemon hanging on the side. She smiled as she saw the delicious looking drink.

"Um. . . Sinon?" Ginrou started, his voice barely above the music, his palms sweaty. His face fell when she didn't acknowledge him, watching as her soft lips touched the edge of the glass, sipping the tea. He swallowed his growing volume of saliva, as he cleared his throat, pulling forth every ounce of courage to get her to look his way. "U-Um. . .!"

"Oi, _Sinon, Dyne, Ginrou!" _

Ginrou's eyes watered as he was cut off, watching as Dyne's eyebrow twitched and a vein appeared on his forehead. Sinon sighed, though the faintest hint of a smile appeared on her face for just a moment. Sinon waved a gloved hand above the booth's edge, and Ginrou looked with a pathetic glare as a mop of red hair held back by a bandanna came bouncing into view.

"You don't really understand the vibe of this place, do you Klein?" Sinon scoffed, looking over with a smirk. She saw the glares and heard the growing grumbling of the rest of the players, but paid them no heed. Most of them were just low level players who weren't taking things seriously. They were the ones that hadn't moved since the game started, believing that someone would come save them. They were the majority of players that resided above ground. She didn't care much about their opinions.

Klein gave a nervous chuckle as he scratched the back of his hair. He was dressed in a long red jacket, that was decorated with black belts that covered the chest and arms, open to reveal a black vest underneath. His left hand was covered in a metal plate gauntlet, colored red and black, while his right was only a fingerless glove, which helped his style of fighting. Black pants held a long curved katana in a special holster, with brown boots to finish the outfit. "Sorry, but you're right, I really don't understand these types of joints – scoot over, Ginrou!" Klein chuckled, as he pulled his sword from his hip and made a move over motion with his free hand.

Ginrou grumbled, sliding his goggles over with him as Klein popped down, resting his sword against his shoulder. He ground his teeth as he saw how Sinon was actually talking and _looking _at Klein. He started grumbling curses under his breath, as Dyne eyed him with a disapproving look.

Klein rubbed his hands together, grinning as he started selecting something to eat, eying the steak special when Dyne stopped him by swiping his menu away from him. "Hey!"

"Stow it. We're not here to eat." Dyne argued, ordering a glass of water for the red-head.

Klein stared at the glass of water that came out, snapping his head up at the older man. "C'mon, I haven't eaten yet Dyne!" He heard Sinon stifle a small laugh as she drank her tea. It was still funny to her, how easily it was they could forget that the food and drink they ingested was all fake, replications of taste that sated their brain's biological impulse to eat. She doubted anyone would die if they didn't drink or eat, or even suffer from dehydration or starvation, it was just a natural thing.

"It's _five _in the _afternoon_!" Dyne growled, glaring at the shrinking Klein, his voice raised as he started to yell. "Don't blame me if you're up all night playing damn minigames on the intranet! We're already in a freaking game and you're _still playing _them?!" The intranet was GGO's version of internet, allowing players to access message boards and even minigames. Games that Klein was rather addicted to. "You realize that your life is on the line here?!" Dyne was standing at this point, red in the face as he leaned over the table, his face in Klein's, Sinon having to lean over to allow the older man to do so.

"Ahem."

"_Whaddya want?!" _Dyne roared as he snapped his head over. His expression cooled as he saw the bouncer NPC looming over him, thick as a refrigerator, dressed to the nines with a solid pair of black shades covering his face. Dyne chuckled as he backed away from Klein. "Now, I'm sure we can, uh – _urk!" _Dyne was lifted off his feet as the bouncer reached over and yanked him from the booth, which in turn caused Sinon's drink to spill on her lap making the girl gasp.

"Hey, watch it!" Sinon roared, glaring at the thing that had her friend under his arm. The NPC set it's sights on her, and she grimaced as it used it's other hand to tear her out of her seat and throw her over his shoulder, making her let out a shriek as the NPC's large had was resting on her rear. "Where the hell are you touching?! Get your hands off me!"

Klein stood to try and help out, but was stopped as another, similar NPC appeared before him, blocking off his route. He gave a nervous chuckle as he held his hands up in surrender. "H-Hey, I'll go, no need to – _O-__Oi, put me down!" _He roared, getting the same treatment.

Ginrou sat nervously, his mouth pursed shut as the two NPC's started him down, holding his friends. The stared at him for a moment, before starting to walk away, making his jaw drop. Not even the programs thought he was worth the trouble. Ginrou's eyes watered, as his lip quivered until a loud roar cut through the bar.

"_Ginrou you spineless git, grab my damn hat, __and get the hell over here__!_" Dyne shouted in a fading voice as he was being dragged by his collar.

Ginrou jumped, as he scrambled to grab his goggles and Dyne's hat, hiding his face with a blush as he walked as fast as he could past the onlooking players, with varying ranges of amusement to annoyance.

The heavy oak doors of the bar slammed open, leading outside to the darkening city. The two NPC's tossed the three outside, all shouting as they hit the pavement hard. Ginrou tiptoed past the bouncers, who closed the doors as he passed.

Sinon growled as she picked herself off the ground where she'd been tossed as a small notification popped up telling her she'd been banned from the establishment for thirty days. She grit her teeth, glaring at the notification, when she heard a long sigh from behind her.

"Great. Just great." Dyne complained, pushing himself into a seated position, with a groan as his back hurt, digging into his duster. "I swear you guys won't be satisfied until the ‹‹Black Dog›› bounty hunters are a laughing stock." He found his pack of smokes, lighting up one with a depressed sigh. He glanced over at Ginrou, whom he snarled at before snatching his hat away and putting it on his head.

Sinon gave him an unimpressed look. "Says the one who did most of the shouting, this is the second nice place you've gotten us thrown out of."

Dyne snapped his head towards her, "I did not!" He roared, before his face reddened. He turned his head away grumbling, refusing to admit she was right.

Klein let out a whimper, sprawled out on the pavement, as he stared up at the dark sky past the towering buildings, a few stars showing the twilight of the evening. "Aw man. . . they had really good steak too." He let out a grunt as he was nudged in the side by Sinon's boot.

"Well get up – both of you. We have work to get to, don't we?" Sinon's eyes narrowed as a bright ray of sun hit her in the face. She reached into her jacket and put on a pair of reflective purple-blue sunglasses that was a solid piece of curved glass that rested across both eyes, like a rectangle, save for a small indent for the nose.

Dyne pulled back the sleeve of his duster, looking at his watch, it was just past five. "Yeah, it's about time. If our information is right, the ‹‹Hellknights›› should be out and about around this time of night." He pointed with a nod of his chin towards his black sport convertible he'd bought after getting lucky with a rare item that he sold for enough credits to buy it with. It could be converted to desert use too, so it wasn't a complete waste of money, or that was his excuse.

Klein snapped to his feet in a single motion. "Shotgun!" He gleefully shouted, jogging to the car.

Sinon sighed, she'd have to sit in the back now. She caught Ginrou walking besides her a bit too close with her peripherals. She didn't hate him or anything, he was her squad mate. But she could really do without his constant attempts to ask her out. She already turned him down, but the man was determined. She'd hoped that by giving him the cold shoulder he'd cut it out but it hadn't worked yet. She felt a small shiver run up her spine as he stared at her rear.

"S-Sinon, uh. . ._yeouch!" _He cried out as Sinon gently jabbed her fingers into his eyes.

"Put your goggles on Ginrou. We're going to need them." Sinon, hid a smile as she opened the back door of the convertible, plopping down on the white interior.

Ginrou stood there motionless for a moment, his eyes still puckered shut. _She. . . talked to me. . . _touched _me! _A large grin spread on his face as he gave a small giggle. He was so in!

"_Ginrou!_ Get yer ass in the car!" Dyne yelled, turning the keys, the car coming to life with a powerful rev. Loud heavy metal blasted over the speakers, Dyne's music of choice.

"Yes sir!" Ginrou yelled enthusiastically, throwing on his goggles, running to the other side. He didn't more than a foot in before Dyne sped off, making him fall in with a yell and harsh complaint as he closed the door before he fell out.

Sinon paid little attention to the two men bicker at each other as she crossed her arms, looking at the setting sun that peeked between buildings. She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling the warm desert wind whip her hair around and caress her face as the convertible sped down the highway, the lgoud tunes oddly comforting. She still, at times, couldn't believe that she was trapped inside a game. It felt far too much like reality to be that way. It'd been three months since the opening ceremony sealed everyone's fate.

She glanced at the three men in the car, glad her eyes were hidden by the glasses that reflected the glare of the sun. She'd met them shortly after the game started, in a way she didn't like remembering. After adventuring together for sometime, they'd witnessed a group of PK'ers murder a group of players who'd just defeated an elite monster in the desert, none of them ready for an ambush. Dyne had been so enraged by it that he charged out blindly firing his gun, he'd barely survived their counter attack, and she finished them all off with her rifle, stunning them with shocker rounds.

After that, he decided to become a bounty hunter exclusively, bringing every last one of them to justice. Dyne was one of the good guys, she knew, as was Klein and even Ginrou, regardless of how creepy he could be. They all believed that the game wouldn't end with just one survivor, that someone on the outside would figure out a way to save everyone. She frowned, she really wanted to believe that, to give into foolish optimism. But. . .the truth was much harsher than hopes and dreams. Someday, in order to survive, she'd have to put each of them in the cross hairs of her scope. Her heart ached at the thought, which she stifled as fast as she could. Now wasn't the time to think of such things, she had to focus on the present.

Glancing up, she saw they were in the more dense part of the city, where the wall met the tops of the buildings now, and the sunlight was gone, replaced by the bright lights of the city. This was the only way to the slums by car. At the far end of the road they traveled, past the other cars, she could make out the tunnel that would lead down in a spiral turn to the underground city. She reached down and pulled her pistol out, pulling the slide back to check if it was loaded – it was, and with non-lethal ammunition.

She stared at the ominous mouth of the tunnel ahead. Soon the glamor and dazzling face of ‹‹SBC Glocken›› would give way to its underbelly, it's true nature. She scoffed, it was like looking at the nature of human relationships with GGO. Everyone wore a smile, but had their finger on the trigger. Leaning back, she crossed her arms again as the darkness of the tunnel swallowed them.

XXXX

The convertible pulled up against the packed sidewalk, full of NPCs and players both. Orange indicators floated above the players heads, making everyone in the car leery, as they all had white indicators marking them as clear targets if anyone should inspect them. "This is the spot right?" Dyne asked Ginrou, looking over at the large bar, Bottom Luck Lady, keeping his eyes on anyone who might be watching them too close.

Ginrou's goggles flashed for a moment, as he manipulated a PDA he held in his hand. His PDA functioned like a skill hot bar, allowing him to use abilities such as ‹‹Scan›› or ‹‹Hack››. The tech programmed into the goggles began scanning the bright purple building, it's large stylized neon pink letters glaring off the thin red lenses. "Mmm. . . yep. This is where the ‹‹Hellknights›› hang out, if the information we bought from the Rat is still good."

Sinon stifled a scoff as she opened her door, stepping out into the crowded street, ignoring the lecherous stares. "They couldn't have picked a better place." She pulled out her Glock, but was stopped by Dyne's voice.

"_Woah_, hold on! We're not going in hot, equip something melee. We don't know if there's gonna be any innocent players in there or not."

Sinon shot an a glance over her shoulder, her glasses hiding her annoyance. Opening her menu, she switched to a retractable stun baton. "Anyone who hangs out in a place like this isn't going to be, Dyne."

"Thinking like that is what gets innocent people hurt Sinon." Dyne replied with a small pang of regret in his voice, sounding like he spoke from experience as he stepped out himself. "C'mon. Stick close to me and follow my lead." He adjusted his hat, tipping down the brim. Klein and Ginrou stepped out of the car too, Ginrou looking a little nervous as he shuffled up behind Sinon as quick as he could.

As they neared the grimy bar door made from thick steel, a long bar taking the place of a handle, they could hear the muffled music within. Pulling open the door, they were assaulted by a blaring beat of hard electronic music, shaking their chests from the vibration of the bass. Vivid flashing colors illuminated the dark bar within as they stepped in, the door closing behind them and trapping them within the throng of players who all socialized and drank with unrestrained mirth.

The bar was comprised of a U shaped half ring of booth seats, made with tall backs and the tabletops being made of bright neon lights that could be chosen by the persons seated at it. The bar sat in the middle of the U, an island that went from ceiling to floor, stocked with alcohol on all sides, back lit with a bright green light, with a square bar surrounding it fully, its surface made of blocked glass with glowing pink lights underneath it that pulsed slowly. Patrons sat around the bar as a single player ran it, mixing drinks and chatting with the other players. Behind that, taking up the rest of the bar, was a large dance area and small stages where adult women danced alluringly for the players who threw credits at them.

Sinon frowned at the sight, seeing that the dancers were players, instead of NPC's. The fact that some people would go to such lengths to get ahead was disheartening, but it was better than killing players. She glanced around, the bright flashing lights of the dance floor reflecting off her glasses. She did a head count in a glance, not counting the mass of players on the dance floor there was twenty orange players in the bar area, not a single white icon in sight, including the bartender.

"C'mon, lets get up to the bar, standing around is making us suspicious." Dyne spoke, noting a few rougher looking players sizing them up. Standing in the open like this was making them obvious targets, they stuck out like sore thumbs, but they usually did when they came into the slums. Finding an open part of the bar where he could scoot in for a drink, he sat, Sinon taking the seat next to him, Klein seating opposite of him. Dyne raised an eyebrow as he saw the bright blush on his face, and how he was averting his eyes. "What's wrong with you?"

Klein stammered something incoherent, putting his head down. Dyne looked over to where he was trying to avoid and noted a rather beautiful blond dancer, who erotically slid along a pole, shaking her avatar's breasts to great effect. He gave a grin and ruffled Klein's hair. "I forgot you're a virgin."

Klien snapped his head up with an even redder blush, glaring at the old man ashamed. "S-Shut up! What does that have to do with anything?!" He ground his teeth as Dyne held back a laugh, and he started looking around for Ginrou. "Where the heck –?" he started, until Sinon pointed over towards one of the stages. Both Klein and Dyne grimaced as they saw the skinny hacker across the room, staring at one of the dancers with his mouth wide open, drool leaking from his mouth.

"God _damn_ that boy." Dyne growled, standing, then leaning close to Sinon. "Find out what you can from the bartender. I'm going to go reel in the horn dog." He started mumbling, the boy should know better – especially when they were on the job.

Sinon nodded, as Dyne walked away grumbling. She raised a gloved hand towards the bartender, an older man with a muscular tanned body, sporting a gruff goatee and a bald head. The bartender glanced at her, giving a smile that held a cigarette tucked in his lips.

"What can I get for a cute girl like you?" He asked condescending.

Sinon's eye twitched, but she let it slide as she leaned forward onto the bar with her elbows. "I'm looking for the ‹‹Hellknights››." She noticed the change in his face. She opened a small window, sliding it over to him.

The bartender glanced down at the window, which held a small bribe. He gave a gruff laugh, canceling the trade. He leaned in close to the blue haired girl, his breath making her nose crinkle from the mixture of cigarette smoke and alcohol. "You better get out of here before something really bad happens to you girlie." He ignored the glare from the red-head. He grinned as she turned her head to look at him. "Actually, now that I look at you, maybe I won't." His hand grasped her chin. "Maybe instead I'll – _urk!" _

Sinon moved faster than than the bartender could react, and soon he was tasting the tang of steel as she pushed the barrel of her gun into his mouth, smashing his cigarette into his mouth. "_Don't touch me_." She growled, noting the patrons that surrounded her jumped back. She couldn't stand his grimy touch, it reminded her too much of _that day. _"Now tell me what I want to know or _you're _the one that's going to have something bad happen." She felt him squirm, his eyes wide with fear and pain as the cigarette burned the inside of his mouth. Her eyes were full of frozen fury, promising a horrid death for the fool if he tried anything.

"Sinon! Watch out!" Klein shouted.

Sinon threw a glance over her shoulder and saw a man charging her. She spun and drew her stun baton, flicking it out in a crackle of energy as she did. The man held a knife, and she blocked his downward stab with her forearm against his wrist and lashed out with the baton, hitting him square in the jaw as it sparked to life with a loud crackle that was inaudible over the music. He dropped to the ground unconscious and stunned.

"Bitch!" Another yelled, making her turn to another, this time unarmed, as a fist flew for her face. She avoided it with a graceful back step, grabbing onto his arm as she slammed her shoulder into his back, knocking him into the bar, making him scream as she twisted and broke his shoulder. She stomped on the back of his knee and smashed his skull against the corner of the bar, hearing a solid _crack, _knocking him out cold.

She glared over at the bartender who'd backed up against the middle island, a large gash on his forehead where it'd met the glass. Vaulting the bar, sending drinks smashing to the ground, she grasped the bartenders collar and yanked him down to her level, meeting the underside of his chin with her Glock as she did so. She ground the barrel against his throat making him start to stutter.

"W-W-Wait!"

"_No." _She spoke, slamming him against the wall, shaking the bottles. "Either you tell me where they are _right now __– _or you're getting free brain surgery." It was a feint of course, the gun was loaded with shocker rounds. She crinkled her nose as she smelt his terrible cologne.

"I-I don't know alright!" He started screaming when he saw her pull back the hammer. "Listen, _listen! _They're normally here, but they've been in an uproar for a while and they've gone on a manhunt!"

"Keep talking."

"About two days ago, five of their guys got killed, they've been looking for who did 'em in since!" He pointed towards a booth in the corner, where a single woman with long black hair sat with her back to them. "Right there! There's one of 'em okay?!"

Sinon glanced over, before taking the gun out from under his chin, making him let out a loud sigh of relief, which was cut off by another harsh shove against the wall, knocking a bottle the ground with a loud _smash_. "If I so much as see a shadow following me, or if I get any whiff of you around us after, I'm coming back here. _Understand me_?"

The bartender gave a nervous nod, still backed up against the wall.

Sinon lingered her stare for a moment before she vaulted back over the bar, landing next to a stunned Klein. She glanced at him as she passed. "Pick your jaw up and let's go find out what she knows."

Klein stared after Sinon, his hand still on the hilt of his katana where he was prepared to draw it before he saw he clearly wasn't needed. She never ceased to amaze him in how much she'd changed over the past few months. He caught the glares of some of the patrons, including the ones who were picking their friends up off the floor, making him grin nervously before shuffling off to catch up with Sinon.

Rei sat at the lone table, staring down through her half-empty glass of vodka, shaking as she stared at the blue glow of her table. It illuminated her sunken in violet eyes, heavy bags underneath them and terrified features. Her hands clutched at her glass, shaking. Her breathing was heavy, controlled, other wise it would explode into a panicked breathing. A sudden appearance of a woman across from her made her jump with a loud scream as she stared at the bright blue glasses that stared her down.

Sinon's eyes softened as she looked at the shrunken, horrified pupils of the silent woman in front of her, nodding to Klein to block her off if she tried to run. "I'm not here to hurt you." Sinon started. She waited a moment, seeing the panicked stricken woman calm down, or at least return to her previous state. "Where's the rest of your gang?"

Rei trembled as she brought the glass to her lips, downing the rest of the vodka in one swill. She lowered the glass, slowly, as she closed her eyes and embraced the warmth of the alcohol, wondering if it tasted like this in real life, if it held the same comfort. "They. . ." she whispered, opening her eyes to look at Sinon, "They've gone. . . hunting." She whispered the final word, her eyes shaking as she spoke them.

"Hunting? Where, who?_" _Sinon leaned forward, making the girl shrink back. She saw that Rei wasn't going to be forthwith any time soon. She caught the look Klein was giving her. She sighed as she fell back against the booth's padded back, crossing her arms. Klein was always good with kids, not so much women, but he could definitely befriend kids.

Klein knelt down next to Rei, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "My name's Klein. We're looking for your friends, and it's really important we find them. Do you think you could tell us where they went?"

Rei glanced over to Klein who gave her a bright smile, a strange sight in this dark cesspit. She gave a slight blush, the fourteen year old finding the older man rather attractive, enough to where she temporarily forgot her fear. But, the thought of her group made it return, even in the presence of Klein's supporting hand and handsome face. "They. . ." She took a ragged breath, struggling to say the word. "They went searching for the man who . . . who. . . _killed _some our friends."

Klein frowned, nodding. "Did they go somewhere particular?" He felt put off, she seemed far more disturbed than normal for hearing about a friends death. He knew such a thing was terrible, but to inflict so much fear?

"I-I told them not to go. . .!" She spouted out, holding her body. "That – that _thing _isn't human!" She cried out in a harsh whisper, tears forming in her eyes.

"What thing?" Klein asked. He felt a chill run up his spine as her haunted eyes turned to look at him. They were ragged, showing the depths of her fear, it was palpable.

"‹‹The Black Swordsman››."

Klein's eyes widened. He heard Sinon shift forward in her seat, and he frowned. He furrowed his brow, pushing the obvious thought from his mind.

"‹‹The Black Swordsman››? You mean the one at the top of the Wanted list? The 100,000,000 credit bounty – you're sure it's him?" Sinon pressed, leaning forward, trying to keep her tone level as to not scare the sensitive child. She couldn't hide her excitement at the thought of facing the player whom had made such an ominous name for himself in a short period. Perhaps he could be the one who – !

"Did you say ‹‹The Black Swordsman››?!" Ginrou yelped, making them turn towards him, noting he was being dragged by a very annoyed Dyne.

Dyne growled, as he threw Ginrou towards the seat Sinon sat in, making him topple to the ground next to her. He glanced down at the fearful girl, his eyes losing some of the steel edge they held. "Darling, mind telling us about what you saw? I heard what you said."

Rei's eyes shut tight as she shook her head with a whimper. Even with the small warmth of comfort from Klein's hand, she didn't want to say it, but she had to. "It was horrible. I was there. . ." She opened her eyes and stared ahead, past Sinon as if she was looking into that room she'd been in not just two days ago.

"We were all in one of our hideouts, they had me servicing them as they usually did when we were all off. . . it was the only way I could earn my keep, besides stealing, because I didn't want to kill anyone." She didn't notice the clenching of Klein's fist, nor the looks of disgust the others held. "I was lying there, on one of the mattresses, after they'd finally finished with me when I remember hearing the front door get broken in." Her breathing started to grow in volume. "That was when the screams started. _It was horrible. _I could hear something massive being swung through the air, and gunshots. It didn't take long until they stopped though." Her hands clenched around her pale arms so tight that they drew small rivers of blood, that ran through small valleys of previously opened wounds from the same trauma.

"That was when he came to my room." The sounds of the bar cut out for her as her harsh whisper emerged like a shade. All she could remember was the dark of the bedroom, the chill feeling of the cold air on her naked and bruised flesh. Of the ominous shadow that appeared in her doorway. Her voice turned almost monotone. "He stood there, covered in a black cloak that had shiny metal underneath it. He held a massive sword, almost as big as him in his hand. He. . . he just stood there. I – I wanted to scream, to run, but _I was frozen! _I couldn't do anything. I don't know how long he was there, but he just. . . just walked away." She whispered out. She could remember the very presence he gave off, as if Death himself observed her.

"He didn't do anything to you?" Klein asked, his voice more serious than any of his friends had heard him before.

She shook her head, "B-But don't you see?!" She snapped around, looking him in the eye. "H-He's gonna come back for me! Why would he leave me alive if not to kill me later!?" She sobbed, the thought sending her into a panic. "I-I-I don't want to end up like the others! Their faces, _God, _the way they were just strewn about the house!" She squeezed her eyes shut and cried, making Klein and Dyne look away from the poor girl.

"So your friends went to get revenge, is that right? Where did they go? Tell us and we can save their lives." Sinon lied, nothing of the sort would happen. She would be glad to throw them into jail, where she hoped they rot for what they did to the poor girl.

Rei looked up at the other girl, her eyes still brimming with spilling tears. "They're not my friends. . . but I can't survive without them either." She looked up at the emotionless mask Sinon held. "There were some rumors that ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› was seen heading into the ‹‹Labyrinth››."

Dyne chocked back a gasp, as he grimaced. "And you're saying they went in after him?" At her nod he groaned, covering his face with his hand. The ‹‹Labyrinth›› was the underground network of dungeons that lie deep under the earth. No one knew how many floors there were, but so far every party that explored just the first floor had yet to return.

"H-Hey, the ‹‹Labyrinth›› is no joke." Ginrou stuttered out, "If they went down there, they ain't coming back!" He shrunk as both Dyne and Klein shot him dagger glares.

Klein grumbled as he stood. Ginrou was right, but if the ‹‹Hellknights›› went in there, they would need to go in after them if they wanted their bounty. He saw the terrified look on the girls face and he frowned, wanting nothing more than to let ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› have the piles of filth for what they did to her. "We don't know if they've reached it yet." He lied. "If we hurry, we might get there before they do."

Rei looked up towards Klein with large eyes, hanging on his every word. Klein gave her a small smile. "Just wait here for us to return, okay?" He had had to go after them, but he wasn't about leave the girl alone in the slums. "You'll be safe again soon, I promise." He blushed when the girl shot over to hug his midsection, causing him to awkwardly pat her head.

Sinon stood, "C'mon, if we don't hurry they'll have too big of a lead on us." Her voice was oddly subdued and quiet. She paused as she passed Rei, glad again for her glasses, or everyone could see the expression held in her eyes. The young girl pulled at her heart, it was a dangerous emotion for her to feel. She continued moving forward, blinking away her hesitation.

Ginrou looked between the two, his face growing blue. "You're not serious are you?!" His legs quivered at the thought of having to chase after the criminals into the pit of the beast.

Dyne kicked him in the shin, making the tech geek yelp. "Damn straight. As much as I'd rather not go into that place our payche – _clients, _are getting away." He ignored the smile Klein gave him and grumbled as he turned and headed for the door, dipping his hat down. Ginrou whimpered as he stood, following behind him with a look of utter dejection on his face.

Klein gave Rei a final pat, telling her to stay put, giving her some credits for food while he was gone. He left the girl grateful and looking a little less afraid, which made him smile.

"You're a real lolicon aren't you?" Sinon spoke, hiding the amusement in her tone.

Klein snapped his head towards her with a fierce blush. "I am not! I just can't leave a woman in need, y'know?!" He crossed his arms, looking away from her.

Sinon gave a laugh, walking through the open door that Dyne opened for her, greeted by the horrendous smell of the outside. Throwing a look over her shoulder, she spoke, "That's gonna get you killed someday, you know that right?"

Klein only gave a 'hmph', in reply as he went to take his seat, only finding Sinon beat him to it. "Oi!"

"Shotgun."

He ground his teeth, but knew he had to abide by the ancient laws. Throwing open the back door, he plopped down next to a similarly displeased Ginrou. As the car accelerated back onto the cracked and ill-maintained road, he couldn't help but narrow his eyes as he thought about the story he'd heard.

‹‹_The Black Swordsman››. . . _He couldn't help but liken the name to the memory of the teenager who'd saved his life. _Kirito. . . is it really you? _He knew it couldn't be, the names didn't match, but then again, ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› was only a moniker, no one knew his true name, the only information anyone had was:

? ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› Danger rating: A Reward: 100,000,000 Credits. Wanted for One Hundred counts of murder.

And the bounty grew by the day.

The car shook as it hit a small pothole, making Sinon slap Dyne's arm for not paying attention. The lights of the street lamps above flashed in an even pattern as Dyne wove through the mixture of player and NPC traffic. Klein grasped the hilt of his Steel Katana, if he met ‹‹The Black Swordsman››, then he'd see for himself it was Kirito. If it was. . . Klein closed his eyes, he'd cross that bridge when it came to it.

XXXX

Sinon tucked her glasses into the inside pocket of her jacket as they entered the massive elevator that would lead them down into the ‹‹Labyrinth››. It was large enough it could easily transport a house, or a raid sized group of players. Located in the heart of ‹‹SBC Glocken››, in the main office of the Aztec Excavation company, it was the only way in or out of it. According to witnesses, players hadn't seen ‹‹The Black Swordsman››, but a rough looking group of men had entered only a few minutes before they'd shown up. She turned, sighing as she saw Ginrou cowering in the doorway of the elevator cab, unwilling to pass the threshold. She saw his eyes meet hers, and she grunted, giving a taunting smile. "I don't find cowards very attractive you know."

Ginrou's eyes widened, and he scrunched his face, before slapping both his cheeks. "I-I'm no coward!" He yelped, before bounding into the elevator, prompting the scowling Dyne to push the 'down' button.

"Sure. I'd believe you but thousands wouldn't." Dyne spoke in a low tone as he walked into the middle of the elevator to convene with everyone. The elevator gave a hint of a shake, before it began descending. He took a deep breath, before crossing his arms. "Alright everyone, listen up." He began, his voice oozing with the quality one looks for in a leader.

"We don't know what we're going to be encountering down here. Our only objective is to find and secure the ‹‹Hellknights›› – Sinon, we don't know what kind of terrain or enemies we're gonna run into down here, so your rifle isn't going to do much good." He started, nodding at the Remington M24 she had slung over her back. "But, keep it equipped if we need the long range support and be ready to use your pistol, alright?"

Sinon nodded, shifting the rifle on her back.

"Klein, you're on point. Keep your eyes open and that shotgun ready, I don't want any surprises – and please don't go gung ho with the sword unless you run out of ammo, understand?"

Klein gave a small grumble, used to the mocking he received for carrying the sword around, pulling out and equipping his Tactical Mossberg 500, making sure he had all the rounds ready.

"Ginrou, you're going to be hanging back with Sinon, alright? Make sure you keep your radar ready – if it even works down here. And for the love of God, don't lose your head when the shooting starts."

Ginrou nodded, pounding his chest heroically, "Not me, sir!" Though it was thrown off by the terrified look he held, along with the rivers of sweat that poured off him and soaked his clothing.

"Just get your gun ready."

Ginrou pulled out his P90 sub-machine gun, cocking it with a grin, looking towards Sinon, expecting her to be impressed, but instead found her focused on her weapons.

Dyne shook his head as he pulled out his FAMAS, doing final checks himself as he knew the elevator would probably finish up soon. "And remember," He spoke as he slapped the mag back into it. "Don't kill the targets, they're worth more alive. But if it comes down to it, stay alive." The other three nodded, and the elevator came to a halt with a small jolt. The doors on the opposite side that they came in on made a small hissing sound, and Dyne let out a long breath as he raised his FAMAS, motioning for Klein to move ahead as the thick metal doors began to slide open.

Klein pushed through the large metal doors as soon as they were wide enough, his breath caught in his throat as he expected an entire group of mutant monsters to leap from the unknown. But he was proven to be wrong, greeted by a simple metallic room, it's walls, floors and ceiling all shining from the bright fluorescent lights that were embedded into the ceiling. At the end of the room was a doorway that led into another metallic hallway, that seemed to go on until the end of it was too small to make out.

He stalked forward, sweeping his gun as Dyne had taught them. He wasn't sure, but they all thought he had previous training, either military or police, his bet was on police. He heard the others keeping up with him, so he entered the doorway, noticing now that there had been a door once, but it was now in half, almost looking like it'd been sliced through with a metal object.

The hallway he'd seen stretched on for at least two hundred feet, and he realized that every twenty feet, a door had been locked up to impede progress, but they all seemed to be open, small rooms being accessible through doors before each, larger blast door. He stopped, whispering. "Dyne, I think someone's already cleared this floor. Each of these sections seemed to need a key card or something that these rooms probably held."

Dyne walked up besides Klein, keeping his gun trained on the door way to his left. "I was about to say the same, it's got all the markings. Don't let your guard down and check each room as we pass it. We don't know what we'll find."

Klein nodded, and continued forth again. He kept his pace as fast as caution would allow, sticking to Dyne's orders. Each room was a myriad of random rooms, some looked to be as simple as bedrooms, others as complex as a laboratory with shattered containers that once held something huge. What they were, he didn't want to know. But every room was already looted, the monsters having clearly been slain already, as evidenced by the lack of presence. The only sound they could hear, was the echoing of their footsteps against the steel ground; it was unnerving. It felt like by now they should have seen something – anything. But, they were only greeted by the sounds of their own presence in this empty husk of a dungeon.

Counting, they passed nine blast doors, and the tenth wasn't a door, but rather another elevator, it's doors shut and locked. Klein saw a small panel that jutted from the wall next to it, and attempted to manipulate it, but was greeted by a blaring error sound that made him curse. Looking to the side of it, he saw what looked to be a keycard reader. He turned. "Oi, Ginrou, I need you to crack this."

Ginrou adjusted his goggles as he turned from keeping an eye on their backs with Sinon, moving forward with a serious look. He might not be the bravest, but when it came to hacking skill, no one could top him. He gave it a once over. "It shouldn't take too long." He stated, pulling out his PDA, going to work on the key lock through a program that presented the lock like a puzzle.

Klein nodded, looking around the hallway. He'd noticed it before, but there was clear signs of fighting. Some of the rooms had massive claw marks tearing through the steel walls like wet paper, while some spots looked like they'd been melted through with corrosive acid. He noticed out of the corner of his eye, Dyne staring into the room closest to the elevator. He walked up to the still cowboy, opening his mouth to ask what it was he was staring at when he stopped cold. "What. . . what the hell?" Klein whispered.

Dyne shook his head, as he ventured into what looked like a changing room at one point, bent up and destroyed lockers surrounding the dark walls. He narrowed his eyes, against the far back wall, smashed into the lockers, was a monster corpse that had yet to despawn. It was grotesque, shaped like an elongated sexless human with tight pink skin over athletic muscles, almost eight feet in height. The body was mangled, it's arms severed, laying away from the body, but Dyne was glad for it, the massive foot long claws that grew from enlarged hands being nothing he wanted to fight. It's head lie just a foot from it's body, it's skull looking to be once human, though warped and changed through some horrific experimentation, it's eyes stared up at them with a pupil-less stare. He glanced over at Klein who was staring at the thing with horror.

"It must have been the result of some sort of science project gone wrong." Dyne mumbled, turning away from the monster. "I think we know what was in all those tubes in those laboratories we passed. I think we should thank whoever took care of them for us."

"Oi, Dyne. You did notice how it was killed. . . right?" Klein spoke, turning his head in the direction the older man walked off at.

". . . don't tell the others, we shouldn't jump to conclusions." Was all Dyne replied, hiding the worry from his voice. The thought that the terrifying killer was indeed real made him question if they should really be down here.

Klein stared at the bright red marks on the creature's torso that bled sparks of data. It was obvious to anyone that the damage had been done with a blade. A bead of sweat rolled down his cheek, he couldn't even imagine standing toe to toe with such a devastating nightmare. He rejected the notion that one person could do this, they would have to be a real monster.

"It's cracked!" Ginrou shouted, his voice snapping Klein out of his trance. He shook his head, slapping his cheek. Now wasn't the time to get freaked out. Spinning on his heel, he jogged out of the room, noting the strange look Ginrou gave him, his face giving away the nervousness he felt. Klein reached behind him and pressed the door button to close it behind him. Looking to Dyne, the older man nodded as he tapped on Sinon's shoulder. Klein returned the nod, and opened the elevator door, aiming into the cab as it revealed itself. This time is it was a much smaller elevator, though a single glaring feature brought everyone's attention to it. At the other end of the cab was another set of door, presumably that opened on the other end. Halfway up however, a large scar marred the door, a puncture wound from something two and half feet wide, and at least two inches thick.

"That's. . ." Ginrou started, staring at the scar.

"Don't think about it, just get in – Klein." Dyne spoke roughly, glancing behind them as he kept his FAMAS pointed ahead.

Klein nodded, stepping in, waiting until Dyne pushed Ginrou through and Sinon stepped in last, lowering her rifle. She looked over at puncture, narrowing her eyes, as Klein pressed the down button, the doors shutting behind them. "Be careful when we get to the bottom." Sinon started, pointing at the scar. "The metal is bent inwards, whatever made that, did it from outside the elevator."

The group was put on edge as the words lingered in their minds, their guns trained on the door in a crescent formation as the elevator continued it's descent. Sinon held her rifle in the nook of her left armpit, as she drew her Glock, pointing it at the door. Whatever it was that waited on the other end, she was excited to meet, not bothering to hide her small grin.

The elevator let out a small _ding _as it hit the bottom floor, and the doors began to part. A black shadow fell. Everyone tensed as their fingers wrapped around the triggers, but it fell to the elevator floor with a large thud, making everyone jump in shock. A large red sign floated about the thing, _DEAD. _They realized it was a player, a massive red block of him missing through his midsection, the same shape as the scar on the elevator.

"What. . ." Ginrou started before he dropped his gun, the P90 clattering to the floor.

Dyne almost unleashed a scathing tongue lashing, before his eyes widened, catching a glimpse of what he saw.

Sinon stepped out of the elevator, forgetting their formation, her eyes wide as she scanned the metallic square room. From corner to corner, the floor was littered with bodies. She counted at least fifteen _DEAD _markers, but not a single body appeared to be whole. Severed limbs, heads, some bodies cleaved in half; all were scattered. There was more red marks that glowed in the bring lighting than actual skin. Bullet holes and massive slash marks marred the walls, even a few black marks from where explosives went off. A huge fight had taken place down here. She'd expected something like this, but this was. . . could one man have really accomplished such a feat? A small shiver of fear and excitement ran through her as her fists clenched around the weapons they held.

Klein stumbled forward, as he knelt next to one of the player corpses, a tough looking male, his face frozen in pain and fear, his lower body missing from his left shoulder to right hip. "Who the hell did this?"

Dyne stepped from the cab, his eyes jaded as he scanned the room. "Whatever had, has already left." He pointed with his chin across the room to a massive steel door, the words 'Main Laboratory' on a metal plaque above it. "If I had to wager a guess, ahead is the boss room. . . but," he glanced down and grimaced. "At least we know what happened to the ‹‹Hellknights›› now." He gave a dejected sigh. "And our pay day."

Ginrou stared in frozen horror at the room. Feeling the urge to vomit, even if such a thing didn't exist in the game. Every last synapse in his brain was firing off with the same message, _get the hell out. _"G-Guys, we n-need to leave." He stammered out, already moving towards the panel, his hand groping for the control panel.

Sinon shot the tech a glare. "No way." She growled, there was no way she was going to run from this.

Dyne looked over at her. "That's not your call to make." He turned his head as she turned her icy fury onto him. The girl tried to hard to hide what was hurting her through that mask. "But neither is it yours, Ginrou. Get out here." He ordered, watching as the timid man struggled with the order, looking as if he wanted to cry. Dyne gave a stern look, shifting the weight of his gun, making Ginrou bite his lip as he gave a small whimper, picking up his P90 and stepping outside it. Almost immediately the doors closed behind him, making the man panic as he turned and slammed against the door, trying to pry open the doors, but he couldn't pry them open with his small arms, nor was there any sign of a panel to manipulate the elevator.

"We're trapped!" He screamed, stumbling back away from the door, and then letting forth a scream as his foot caught on a severed arm, making him trip and fall back onto the floor, landing on a dead corpse, making his scream intensify.

"Oi, Ginrou! Pull yourself together dammit!" Klein shouted, pulling up the irate man with a rough yank. He grasped the frail man's shoulders with a strong grip. "I know it's scary, but if you panic then you're not even gonna have a chance at this alright?!"

"T-That's easy for you to say!" Ginrou stammered, his goggles having come loose from his fall, showing his terrified brown eyes. "You're all b-brave, you know that's not me!"

Klein grit his teeth, "Look at us, do you think any of us want to be trapped down here?!" Ginrou stopped for a moment, looking at his three comrades. All of them held strong faces, but it was clear, from the way Dyne's left hand clenched and unclenched around the barrel of his FAMAS, to how Sinon's lower jaw moved and Klein's small beads of sweat, they were all nervous to be down here. "But we all understand we can only go forward, if we just freak out and panic, we're definitely gonna die!"

Ginrou sucked in a shaky breath, tinged with a small sob, as he nodded once. "Y-You're right. . . I'm sorry."

Klein grinned, giving the tech a thumbs up. "Besides, we're ‹‹Black Dog››, nothing can beat us! We haven't survived this long for nothing, right?" He leaned in close, his voice dropping to a whisper, "And who's gonna keep Sinon safe in the rear if you go AWOL, eh?" Ginrou was silent for a moment, before he gave a firm nod, his chest puffing out. Giving the other man a firm slap on the back, the samurai stood, offering a hand up.

Dyne gave an under the breath laugh, as he hid a grin. Klein was a good man.

A sudden force shook the entire room, eliciting a shout from everyone as a massive roar pierced through the thick steel walls.

"What the hell?!" Sinon shouted, staring at the large steel doors. Whatever that was it did _not _sound human.

"If I had to guess, someone's fighting the boss." Dyne spoke, staring at the same door. He looked back towards the other three. "Look, I understand the situation we're in. But it's obvious that we can't go back, I'm guessing not until the boss is killed. I won't make any of you follow me, our squad has always been reliant on us doing things as individuals working towards a common cause. If you don't think that going forward is the right thing, you can always wait here until the next group comes through and take your chances at getting back up then. But, if we help fight the boss, we're bound to get something good from it." He looked at each of them in turn, seeing both Sinon and Klein wearing confident smiles that hid their nervousness. He gave them grateful nods.

He looked towards Ginrou, who had his head down. Dyne's smile faded, for once he didn't feel anger towards the kid. He opened his mouth, but was stopped as Ginrou raised his hands, fixing his goggles on his head. He raised his head, his eyes now hidden by the thin red lenses.

"I'm with you Dyne, for better or worse." Ginrou spoke, his voice even as he gripped his P90.

Dyne grinned, giving him a nod. "Alright! Klein get on point, let's go kick whatever ass presents itself to ‹‹Black Dog››!" The two men gave a loud cheer, Sinon settling for a smile, as Klein jogged up past Dyne with his shotgun raised. Dyne joined him, standing next to the samurai with his FAMAS. Sinon pressed herself up against the right side of the door, her rifle ready and handgun holstered, giving Ginrou a nod as the tech moved to the opposite side to open the door.

Klein took a deep breath, as Ginrou opened the door with a small chime, the door sliding opening. Klein moved forward, sweeping his shotgun left and right, the anticipation fading some as he saw the door opened into a decontamination room. He moved up to the next white steel sliding door that lie only a few feet away, the behind him closing as everyone else stepped through.

Another bestial roar was unleashed, and now the sounds of steel clashing onto steel could be made out. A small electronic voice chimed out. _Please standby for decontamination. Please stand by. _A large hissing sound enveloped the room as white mist shot out from multiple tiny holes that covered the entire room. Everyone covered their mouths as the process went about, not wanting to ingest any of the decontaminates from sheer reflex, forgetting they were in a game. It lasted for all of ten seconds, before the spray stopped, leaving their clothing moist, already starting to dry up. A small green light lit up beside the door, and Klein narrowed his eyes as his finger wrapped around the trigger.

A single roar cut through the air as the door opened, as a massive laboratory room with a huge shattered vat was revealed. Klein's jaw dropped as he saw what had to be a monstrosity almost twenty feet tall towering over the laboratory, a replication of what he saw in the changing room, although it was far more mutated with it's spine erupting in massive spikes at every section, swinging around four arms with claws that dwarfed a human, the claws seeming to be made of steel. It's attention was focused on something else, it's arms swinging in an erratic pattern.

A rage fueled battle cry broke the pattern of the monster's howl, alerting everyone to the presence of another human, unseen behind the monster. Before any of them could think to help, however, smaller, inhuman roars joined it, causing Klein's attention to brought to smaller versions of the boss charging towards the elevator, coming in three seperate directions. Klein aimed, squeezing the trigger. The beast screamed as half it's head was blown off, sending it skidding to the ground.

The sound of the FAMAS erupted next to him, another creature falling to the ground. "Move, move! Get into position!" Dyne screamed as he kept up the pressure. The monsters were numerous, pouring from the laboratory in places they couldn't see behind all the machinery and equipment.

Klein fired off another slug, pumping the shotgun as he fired round after round. He only had two shots left. The crack of Sinon's rifle sounded, ending the life of one of the mutants that had climbed up to a higher spot, as she covered their front giving her a clear view to the boss. Ginrou's P90 barely masked his screams as he fired wildly into an advancing group on their left flank that Dyne engaged. Klein grit his teeth, their right flank being the area he had to protect. Two more shells fired, his gun was empty and one of the mutants came tearing around a corner, it's black steel claws glinting in the light as it's saliva coated tongue whipped around in anticipation for the warm flesh it would soon devour.

Klein spun the empty shotgun in his hands, meeting the beasts charge with the butt of the gun, clubbing it in the head, giving it two more solid blows to give him enough time to draw his sword. With a loud cry he plunged it into it's head. Snapping his head up, he saw two more advancing. He stepped away from the corpse his sword held at his side.

A claw swung in a wild arc, he parried it, his arms shaking from the force of the monsters blow, countering with a controlled slash across it's neck severing the beasts head, dropping it's HP to zero. He cursed as he rolled to the side, the second too fast for him to counter. His eyes widened as it headed past him and straight for Sinon, leaping at her. He opened his mouth to scream, but it was too fast –!

Sinon moved faster than he thought possible, as she turned and caught the leaping beast's mouth with the end of her rifle, as it's claws came down in sweeping motion to capture it's prey, it's milky white eyes staring at the Ice Queen. She grinned, pulling the trigger, causing it's head to explode, leaving only a jaw as it was sent hurtling back from the force of the bullet.

Klein only stared for a moment, the girl unfazed by the close encounter, sweeping back to fire at two more that still charged them. He picked his jaw up and stood, picking up his shotgun as he quickly reloaded it. They continued the frenzied fire, killing anything that entered their range. The monster's corpses piled as the boss continued to engage whomever was facing it, it's four arms moving fast and getting knocked aside with clangs of steel.

Sinon stole a glance, seeing a flap of a black cape pass behind a swing of a muscular arm, a masculine cry unleashed as the sound of steel slamming into flesh sounded. She looked left, and saw the last of the smaller creatures get blasted away by Dyne, his FAMAS clicking after.

"Reload, we're engaging the boss!" Dyne ordered, dropping the magazine as he slapped in a fresh one, pulling back the cocking lever. Everyone followed suit, and he turned his gun, ready to open fire when they were all stopped by a furious war cry, a flash of black cloth appearing above the boss, a bright flash illuminating the area above it in an arc and just as fast vanished as it plummeted down with the sound of flesh being torn apart.

For a full three seconds, no one moved, no one even breathed as the boss hung, frozen in the middle of it's attack. The beast shifted, it's left half falling a foot, before a red line appeared straight down the middle, the two halves of towering behemoth falling apart. They slammed into the laboratory on either end of it, sending a wave of shattered metal scattering as a loud crash sounded.

Behind where the boss was, a single figure remained, crouched from where he landed his technique. A flowing black cape and hood covered his body, black pieces of armor seen shining underneath. Outstretched in front of him was a single great sword, easily as long as the swordsman was tall, and as wide as a man. The swordsman shifted, pushing himself off the ground as a _Congratulations! _appeared before him, along with the rewards he received.

Ginrou's face swam with sweat as he stared through his ID recognition goggles, his hands shaking that gripped his PDA. The software inside already analyzing and identifying the unknown person before them. "It's. . . a ninety-eight percent chance. . . it's him. _‹‹The Black Swordsman››." _Ginrou whispered out as the bounty page pulled itself up. He tried to highlight him, but something was interfering with the game's ability to do so. Was it some kind of ability, an item?

Sinon stared at the hood, trying to get a look at the face of the legendary killer. But black bangs that poked out from underneath covered his eyes, darkening the rest of his face, the only visible parts of him being his toned arms, the rest hidden behind armor and clothing. She glanced over, seeing Klein taking a slow step forward.

"Klein!" Dyne whispered harshly, not wanting to proceed without a plan. He didn't want to believe a single man had been behind everything, but he was the only one who was here besides them. They had just witnessed a player soloing a boss meant for a whole raid to kill, and he'd gone toe to toe with it, with _a sword. _

Klein ignored the older cowboy, slinging his shotgun into his back shoulder holster, taking a few more steps forward. "Kirito, it's you, isn't it?" He spoke, staring into the darkness of the hood. ‹‹The Black Swordsman››'s head turned to look at Klein, making the older man give off a small smile.

Dyne's eyes widened. Did Klein know ‹‹The Black Swordsman››? He glanced over in confusion at the other two, seeing Ginrou have a similar expression, but Sinon was missing. He hid a small grin, knowing the girl she was moving to ambush ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› while Klein kept him busy. The girl was a lynchpin, that was certain.

"Kirito. . ." Klein repeated, walking closer, still seeing no movement from the cloaked figure. "Talk to me man, I haven't seen you since then!" He pleaded, hoping the person he considered a friend would show himself, praying he could get him to explain why he'd killed over one hundred players since the start of the game.

‹‹The Black Swordsman›› remained still.

Klein frowned as he took two more steps forward, until he heard Dyne clear his throat.

"That's far enough, Klein. I don't know what your relationship with him is, but right now he's an enemy. Unless you've forgotten he's killed many, many people since this game started. Regardless of who you think he was, he's not that person anymore." Dyne watched as Klein struggled for a moment, but remained still. Dyne took a more comfortable stance with his FAMAS, as he kept it trained on the hidden face of ‹‹The Black Swordsman››.

"As for you, consider yourself caught. Come along quietly and you'll get to live. Resist, and we _will _kill you. The choice is yours." He caught a glimpse of blue hair moving behind ‹‹The Black Swordsman››, above him, she was in position. "Put down your sword, and get on the ground. If you don't, we will shoot." He hoped that Sinon's round would put him down before they had to.

‹‹The Black Swordsman›› stood as still as a statue, his sword remaining drawn, it's point hovering above the ground, the hand that held it unwavering.

Dyne frowned, "Have it your way." He watched as Sinon appeared over the tank, taking no more than two seconds to aim, her finger moving to the trigger, she'd already loaded a shocker round.

Klein's eyes widened, his jaw opening as he saw her. The trigger was pulled, the flash erupted from the rifle, the black cloak twirled.

Sinon's eyes widened as her target moved, his massive sword slicing into the air, moving faster than anything that size had any right to. She couldn't register what happened, as the same time the sound of the gun firing, the sound of steel striking steel echoed, and her bullet was cut in half, the two parts sailing past their intended target, instead now careening into a large tank at the far side of the room.

_BOOM! _

A massive explosion rocked the entire room, as Sinon saw the tank erupt into flames. A shock wave of pressure hit her square in the chest, and suddenly the entire complex was breaking apart. She heard her teammates screaming her name, as pieces of the ceiling came crashing down onto the ground below, cutting off her view. She glanced up, her pupils shrinking as she saw the section of roof falling for her. She jumped, throwing herself from the tall vat she climbed onto, at least fifteen feet in the air. She didn't have time to think, the last thing she registered was the sound of where she was get pulverized, and the ground rushing to meet her head.

She felt a brief spark of pain and was enveloped by darkness.

XXXX

I may have set a personal record here. I haven't played any video games or anything for the past two days, I've solely concentrated on this one chapter. I'm super excited for this story, and I really, really, hope you guys enjoy it.

Please leave a review, and don't forget to favorite! See ya next installment!

Until Next Time,

Shinobi no Ryu


	3. Kirito

_**BIG LETTERS TIME AGAIN, MUY IMPORTANTE INFORMATION AMIGOS.**_

Hey everyone! Sorry for the longer than usual wait time. I had to go back and re-edit some stuff after a very well constructed critique of my work by Agent 94, who along with Mr. California have been INVALUABLE to the re-construction of my work, and also a source of great information and knowledge. Seriously, this fanfiction has benefited so much from them both it's unreal. I can never give the proper thanks to either of them for what they've done for me.

So please, do me a huge favor and check out both of their profiles, read their work, enjoy their genius and let them know how awesome they are, they freaking deserve all of it.

So without further ado, please enjoy the next chapter of my work! And you might even want to go back and re-read Chapter 2 and 1 for the slight changes I made. One of the biggest being Sinon's attitude, which I really, really fucked up.

Ah yes, and because it will come up, anything in [ ] brackets, denotes speech in English.

_**DIDN'T READ? GO BACK AND DO IT. **_

XXXX

The feel of a passing breeze on her face was the first thing Sinon became aware of when she awoke. Her arms shifted, causing the thick blanket that was draped over her to shift. She didn't remember having a fan in her bedroom, did she leave the window open?

Her eyes fluttered open, and she was greeted by the sight of a rather spartan living area, the walls made from tiles of steel, no windows to be seen and the only illumination came from a long fluorescent tube across from her where the wall met roof. She laid on top a brown leather couch, a fluffy white pillow under her head. A small coffee table with tossed about magazines lie on top of it. Across the couch she saw a small desk, an open laptop sitting on one corner, with what she thought was a gun cleaning set laid out next to it. A standing fan was next to the desk, the culprit behind the breeze she felt.

She combed her still muddled memories, why was she here? The mental echo of a ferocious roar and a collapsing roof reminded her of the last conscious thought she'd had before waking up. She sat up, now eying the surroundings warily. There was a kitchen to her left, and a door to her right, with what looked like a hallway that went further into the area she was in that she couldn't see.

She patted her side, narrowing her eyes when she realized her gun wasn't on her – her jacket and shoes had been unequipped at some point too. Her ears twitched, the quick sound of footsteps on steel floor alerted her to someone approaching from the hall. She threw herself back onto the pillow, remaining perfectly still as she mimicked being asleep.

The footsteps were now in the living area. She remained still, keeping her breathing as even as she could, but her heart was starting to race as she racked her brain desperately for a way to run, to get out of her situation. The footsteps drew closer to the couch, her right fist that lay under the blanket clenched as she prepared herself for whatever would happen next. If she had to go down fighting against whatever dragged her here she would.

"You're too tense for someone pretending to be asleep, you know. Your shoulders are constricted, and your eyes are clenched. Nice try."

Sinon's eyes opened as the amused male voice spoke. She looked straight ahead to see a teenaged man squatting down about four feet from her, his arms resting across his knees. He had short black hair, a dark green bandana wrapped around his forehead, it's long green tails resting just above his shoulders. Strong gray eyes gleamed in the light as they met her own. He wore a black tank top that showed off a muscular torso and arms. Baggy green urban camouflage pants were stuffed into black combat boots. She didn't see a weapon on him.

She felt a small tremor of fear, she always did when she was alone with a strange man. "Who are you. Why am I here?" She asked, keeping her voice as straight as she could. She highlighted his avatar, her eyes narrowing when she saw his orange indicator. Her eyes caught sight of the safe zone indicator in the corner of her HUD, it wasn't lit up- she was in an unsafe zone.

The man gave a smile, as he stood. "Drink?" he asked, walking to the half-sized refrigerator a few feet away. He gave no indication to acknowledge her silence as he pulled out what looked to be two cans of juice. He walked back over towards the couch, placing a drink on the coffee table on top a magazine while he cracked his open, taking a seat on the chair that was up against the desk. He gave a 'go on' gesture with his hand, motioning to the icy cold can that made Sinon's mouth dry up at the sight of it's known pleasures. When she didn't budge he gave a small sigh. "My name is Kirito. You're here, because I found you unconscious in the dungeon."

Her eyes widened as she heard the name, recalling the person Klein was calling for. "You. . .you're ‹‹ The Black Swordsman››!" She felt herself backing up and pulling her legs off the couch, trying to think how fast she could open her menu and switch to her rifle, praying it was still there. She could shoot and run, the door wasn't far.

Kirito's smile fell, replaced with a neutral line. "Why do you think I'm him?" He asked, his tone guarded. He caught the way she was acting, guessing she'd be trying to re-equip her weapons. "Don't bother, they're on the small table just past you." He took a sip of his fruit juice, enjoying it's sweet taste.

Sinon spared a glance, and saw her weapons right where he said they'd be. She furrowed her brow. What was going on here? "What's are you playing at?" She had trouble comprehending what was happening, why did ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› save her? Why leave weapons within arms reach?

Kirito gave a cynical smirk, before taking another swill. "Only in a game like this will people question human kindness. There's nothing to be played here. You were in trouble and I dragged you out before you turned into some mutant's lunch – you should really increase your VIT stat, you know? Helps to avoid getting knocked out like that."

"Why would a mass murderer save me?"

Kirito grumbled to himself, he'd have to thank Klein for spouting his mouth off like that. "If we're going to start playing the ignore questions game, I'll go along with it." Kirito spoke, leaning forward. "What do you know about ‹‹The Black Swordsman››?" His tone was jovial, but it hid something underneath when he spoke the title.

Sinon found herself feeling very confused. She was in the same room with someone she'd seen take out a boss all by himself. She began to consider that he truly had no ulterior motives. She decided to play along for now. "Nothing, beyond your name and the stories of what you did. Including what I saw with what was left over the ‹‹Hellknights››." She wondered just how narcissistic he was, asking questions about himself.

Kirito gave a small smile. "I see. Well they certainly won't be missed by anyone in-game. That's for certain." He gave a final chug on the can, letting out a satisfied breath as he crushed the can in his hand and threw it behind him, missing the rim of his trash can and making him scoff.

Sinon glanced at the can in front of her, her throat aching for a drink. She doubted the drink was poisoned. If he wanted her killed or otherwise he could have done it by now. She was also starting to get the feeling that there was more to him than met the eye, whether it was good or bad she was lost on. She felt too tired to contemplate just what his motive was, she needed to just play it cool for now and get out as soon as she could. Taking the can, she ignored the beaming smile he held as she cracked it open. She took a sip, which turned into a rather long drink. When she let out a content sigh, removing the can from her lips, she blushed for a moment as she saw the grin Kirito had, the involuntary thought that he looked cute crossing her mind.

"Well, if you're not going to hurt me, I can leave, right?" She spoke, still ready to lunge for her gun if she needed to.

"Of course. I only brought you here because I was worried about leaving you alone."

It still didn't make sense to her. But this wasn't the place to make sense of any of it. Better that she get back to the others and – her eyes widened. She caught Kirito's eyes with a wild gaze. "The three men that were with me, did they get out okay?" Another thought crossed her mind. "Did you do anything to them?"

Kirito held up a hand. "Don't worry. I saw them make it out before the entire boss room collapsed. We left through the back exit that was put in for when the dungeon was cleared. They probably left through the front."

Sinon's mouth pursed. She wanted to believe him, but she couldn't fully. She stood, watching him as she swiped open her inventory. As she re-equipped her jacket and shoes she gave him a wary look. "You unequipped my stuff?"

Kirito gave a shrug. "Didn't think you'd appreciate sleeping in your shoes and jacket. It might be a game but it's still uncomfortable."

The thought of him using her hand to unequip the two articles of clothing unnerved her, though a part of her appreciated the gesture. "That's kind of creepy, you know." She kept her eyes on him as she put her guns back on her person, noting they'd never been unequipped or they'd have returned to her inventory. There was a small amount of space the weapons could travel from the avatar, but if they passed a certain distance they would unequip and return to the player's inventory.

The sound of the steel door opening to the apartment alerted them both. Sinon turned, her hand resting on the grip of her Glock. A single man stepped through, the first thing noticeable about him was his piercing gray eyes, eyes that seemed to be able to read everything about her in the split moment he observed her. He had swept back blonde hair, two bangs falling forth to frame his strong face that looked foreign, Caucasian, she thought. He was dressed in dark blue military fatigues and gear, a tactical vest adorning his chest, along with protective pads on his knees and elbows, black military boots adorning his feet and black fingerless gloves on his hands. An ‹‹H&K Mk. 23›› pistol was secured in his thigh holster, along with a ‹‹Mk. 3 Navy Knife›› that was attached to his shoulder strap, the handle pointed down for easier access.

He glanced over at Kirito, speaking in a language that Sinon recognized as English in a gruff voice. [She's awake is she? I hope you don't think we're going to keep her.] Her hair bristled, but she kept it hidden. She could speak English, but she wanted them to think she didn't, she might gleam something interesting. She glanced at Kirito, who had an odd smile on his face, clearly trying not to start any trouble.

[That's not very nice, I told you I couldn't leave her down there. I'm sure she's going to be leaving as fast as she can, I don't think she enjoyed waking up in a strange place.] Kirito spoke in a heavily accented English, it clearly wasn't his first language. It surprised her that he spoke it, but it made sense considering the other man spoke to him in English.

"Sorry for that," Kirito spoke again, catching her attention as he turned to her. "This is Sub-tili-zer," he struggled to say the word, his native tongue not used to the sounds, "though I call him Miller, his full name and player name are hard to pronounce." Kirito chuckled at the end, as he scratched the back of his head. "He doesn't speak Japanese, so I act as his translator."

Sinon met Kirito's eyes, feeling a strange spark of humanity from the black haired teen. "I see." She replied, glancing back towards Miller, who was keeping his eyes on her. She couldn't help but feel put off by his intense gaze, what was it that he wanted? Miller's eyes shifted from her, reliving her of some of the oppressive chill that had been placed upon her.

[Does she know anything about ‹‹The Black Swordsman››?] He asked, his voice low and rough, making her ears perk up. She glanced at Kirito and saw his face fall neutral.

[I'll ask her later.] Kirito replied, his clear he didn't want to talk about it anymore. Miller frowned, his gray eyes intensifying into stone. The younger man met his gaze head on, challenging him. The two men held eye contact for only a brief time, but the force held behind each made it feel like minutes passed.

Kirito was the first to break, looking over to Sinon with a forced smile. "I'm really sorry, you must want to go – let me escort you?"

Sinon stared at him for a moment. She could only guess he wanted to drill her about what she knew about him, or perhaps he wanted to keep his identity secret. She hid a frown, guessing he would want to intimidate her with some kind of threat. Whatever his tactic would be, as long as she got out of here and into the open where she'd have a better chance of running if she had to, it would be better. "Alright." She replied, knowing he'd just insist until she gave in.

Kirito gave her an actual smile, and then swiped open his menu, equipping a camouflage jacket to match his pants. A ‹‹Beretta 92FS›› appeared on his hip, along with the same brand of knife Miller carried that materialized on his opposite hip. She eyed the equipment, curious as to why he didn't carry his ‹‹Greatsword››. Everything up to this point showed that he hid his ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› persona, perhaps this was just him trying to further cement it.

"C'mon, I'll take you to the bike rental, it's not far from here." Kirito spoke, walking over to the front door, opening it.

Sinon nodded, and moved to catch up with him. She saw from her peripherals that Miller followed her movements. The chill she felt before coursed through her. His stare was unnatural, it held something ominous, as if he was staring at her like some sort of specimen. She picked up her pace, feeling glad to be out of the small apartment as she stepped out into the open air of the slums.

The door led out onto a single long walkway, the opposite side from the door was only a hand rail, showing her they were up a few floors, the city that lay before her eyes lit up in every bright color of neon possible. If it wasn't for the horrid stench and grime of the slums, she might say it was a pretty sight, in it's own twisted way. When she heard the door close behind her, she turned, glad that Miller could no longer stare at her. "You live in the slums?" She asked, unable to hold the question back.

Kirito looked surprised and nodded. "Yeah." He answered, he hadn't expected her to talk to him. He led the way down the rusted steel walkway, a stock sound effect of steel groaning playing at intervals as they moved across it.

Sinon's head tilted, now intrigued despite her want to get out of the place. "Why? It's a bit dangerous to down here, don't you think? At least in the safe zone you could sleep easier." She omitted the fact that criminals weren't exactly people that were looked upon warmly, but it wasn't like anyone could do anything to him there.

Kirito was silent for a while, letting the air grow with expectation of answer. To Sinon, it seemed as if the question had put him off for some reason, his back erect, his walk more stiff. As they turned a corner, a stair case now in sight, she opened her mouth to tell her to forget about it when he spoke. "It's a personal reason."

Sinon hid her frown, even if he couldn't see it while they descended the stairs. She supposed it had to do with him being the most wanted man in game. Her frown showed, as they cleared the first set of stairs. She had to keep reminding herself that this man had killed one-hundred people since the game's start. So why did she care about anything besides getting the hell away from him?

Their conversation stopped after that, as they cleared the last three set of stairs, coming to ground level onto a sidewalk crammed with NPC's. She always hated being in throngs of NPC's, it was like having inanimate objects shuffling around you. Even the way groups of them talked felt unnatural. She supposed if you dragged one aside you could hear it's voice, but due to the volume of people, the same ten voice actors sound files played in constant loops giving the effect of hearing the roar of a crowd. She would really appreciate a mute function in game.

Moving with the throng of people, she kept her eyes focused on Kirito, the twin green tails of his bandana moved with him, almost like a flag to keep her eyes on as she kept up. She couldn't help but notice that he moved with ease through the people, it soon became aware to her that he wasn't touching a single one, weaving between people as silent as he could, practiced at navigating the crowd. He never stopped, never bumped into an NPC, or second guess his direction. He simply flowed through them like water. Her shoulder bumped against an NPC, reminding her she needed to pay more attention to her own path.

After a few minutes, they reached a small kiosk where four rather decrepit looking three wheeled motorcycles awaited a user. Kirito turned with a smile. "Well, this is where we part." He spoke and extended his hand. "Sorry again for freaking you out."

Sinon stared at the hand, and back to his face that held a gentle smile. Her right hand tensed for a moment, before she gave a mental sigh, reaching up to grasp his hand. Their gloved hands met, shaking once, murderer or no, she still had manners. "It's alright. . ." she started, looking away from his widening grin. She then let his hand go and turned, walking towards where she knew the exit would be.

"Where are you going?" Kirito called out, his voice reflecting his confusion.

She turned, knowing this would come up. She mumbled something under her breath. "What?" he asked, tilting his head. She blushed for a moment, puffing her cheeks for a second. "I said I can't drive those things. I don't know how." They made the vehicle controls in GGO just like real life. Besides, if she got into an accident she could very well kill herself, it'd happened once to a player who went on a rampage with a rented car a few weeks after the game's start. He tried to ramp something and ended up flipping the car and destroying it, taking him with it as the explosion did far too much damage for a low level player's HP to handle.

Kirito remained motionless for a moment, before, "_Pft." _He hacked out, closing his mouth, looking foolish as he held in his laugh. It was useless however, as he released a genuine laughter, tilting his head back.

"W-What's so funny?!" She demanded, turning towards him. Her face burned with embarrassment. "Are you making fun of me?!" She ground her teeth, starting to consider knocking him out and dragging his 100,000,000 credit ass to jail herself.

He held up his hand, shaking his head. "N-No, I'm sorry. I just," he wiped a tear from his eye that formed in his fit of laughter, "I just never thought you could look so cute. That was adorable."

Her jaw dropped and her whole face burned a color the polar opposite of her eyes and hair. "W-W-What the hell are you going on about?!" She turned and began stomping off, not believing that he was getting under her skin like that. She grumbled to herself about how stupid it was, letting someone get her that worked up with mere words, not daring to repeat what he said in her mind. She didn't note the sound of one of the three wheeled motorcycles starting up, as lost in her thoughts as she was. She turned her head as she saw Kirito pull up along side her on the sidewalk, driving the same vehicle she heard.

"I didn't mean to make you upset – c'mon, hop on and I'll give you a lift, it's the least I can do." He spoke, idling the engine.

Sinon stood for a moment weighing her options. She could go, but then she'd be at his mercy at wherever he took her if he was lying. On the other hand, she would be right behind him, it wouldn't take more than a twitch for her to put a stun round in him if he tried anything funny. Seeing him put his hands flat together in front of his face made her sigh, before climbing up onto the wide back. "Fine. You can take me to the Sun Cluster apartments on Nebula St."

"Alright, I know the place." He replied, before starting the bike up again, pulling into the street. She let out a gasp as the bike accelerated to full speed quickly, the wind whipping her twin strands of bangs around her face. She let out a small sigh, as she relaxed into the seat.

A thought crossed her mind, and she swiped open her menu. Looking at the interface, she saw her social icon had a bright red icon on top of it, showing an envelope. She opened her friends list, and saw that she had multiple private messages from all three members of ‹‹Black Dog››. She gave a small smile, glad they were so concerned about her. She couldn't help but chuckle as she saw the frantic PM's, starting out rather normal before degrading into what she could only describe as panicked text. She hit the reply button, ready to send one to all of them that she was okay and let them know what happened, when she glanced at Kirito.

She frowned. She had to come to terms with her feelings about the outlaw. He was a murderer, someone who's killed enough people, _real people,_ to become a feared legend. She could ask him, why he did it, who he killed. Perhaps he'd only killed orange players? But that wouldn't make sense, to even get an orange indicator he would have had to of murdered one person. She could just send the PM now, tell Dyne she had the Black Swordsman with her and knock him out. She could just hit him with the stun baton as he dropped her off. That'd be that, and they'd all be a hell of a lot richer.

So why did she feel so utterly despised at the thought of hurting him? Of feeling like she would betray him, when she barely knew him?

They drove into the corkscrew tunnel that would lead them up into ‹‹SBC Glocken››'s top layer, it made her thoughts break for a moment as she swore she felt the trike start to lift off as if would flip from the incline, but she was proven to be just paranoid as it continued the climb.

She looked back to the open reply box, the line cursor blinking on intervals on the blank page. She hesitated, her finger hovering above the virtual keyboard that appeared, before sighing and pressing the gray X to cancel the reply.

Regardless if he was a murderer or not, she owed him for saving her from the dungeon while she was unconscious. The top of the tunnel was coming up soon, and she was alerted to Kirito opening his menu, the corners of it appearing around his body. She raised an eyebrow, when her question was answered by the materialization of a flowing black cloak that appeared, it's edges blown by the wind.

Overlapping memories of the dungeon came to her, and she closed her fists. Seeing the cloak appear was what she needed, to remind her what he was. She remained silent as the night sky appeared above between the towering scrapers of ‹‹SBC Glocken››. She checked her watch, it was just past nine. She was out for maybe a couple of hours.

The rest of the trip went by quickly, Sinon finding herself glad for the smell of Glocken's topside far more pleasant than the grimy slums underneath. At least the smell of rot didn't linger up here. When the top of the Sun Cluster apartments came into view, she let out a small breath. The bike came to stop along the curb, and Sinon hopped off, trying to keep her eyes off the black cloak. She took a few steps away from the bike, before ignoring the voice in her head that told her to keep going as she turned to look at him.

His head was tilted towards her, though she couldn't see his face under the dark hood that black bangs poked out from. She found herself staring into the darkness of the hood for a moment, before opening her mouth. "I'm thankful for what you did." She started, turning to meet him fully. "And I owe you one. Which is why I'm not going to try and bring you to justice yet."

"Will you tell others about me?" He asked, his voice muffled and subdued.

She considered for a moment. From the rumors that floated around, no one knew ‹‹The Black Swordsman››'s name, much less where he lived. She had that information now. She could easily spread it, bring multiple squads of bounty hunters and they could all share the purse, it was more than enough that no one would have complaints to the amount each person would get in a fair split. However, "That's not how I do things. I won't tell anyone about you – but," she pointed a finger at him, her eyes narrowed.

"Don't think that means I won't come for you."

"Hmph." He let out a small laugh. "I'll look forward to that." He was silent for a moment, holding eye contact with the woman that couldn't see his face. "By the way, I never asked for your name."

"I never gave it."

"I walked into that one." He chuckled, "Can I, then?"

She remained silent, staring at him. There wasn't any harm in telling him, though what he might do with her name she was cautious about. "Sinon."

He nodded, "Then until we meet again, Sinon. . . I hope under better circumstances." His voice was quiet at the end, barely audible over the idling engine. He turned then, kicking the bike into gear as he revved the engine and tore away, heading back towards the entrance to the slums.

She watched him go, feeling a strange sense of longing, like watching a friend go. Though, she knew it was a foolish feeling, one that was created by her exposure to him seeing him as a regular person, rather than the murderer he was. She turned and looked at the apartment complex. It wasn't hers, she wouldn't have him drop her off anywhere near her home. No, she came here for a different reason. She had someone to see before she let her teammates know she was okay.

XXXX

Sinon rapped on the steel door three times, right under the painted on numbers eight-zero-two. She turned to look down the hallway, feeling as if she was in a different world in comparison to the dredge of the slums. Where once rusted steel encompassed what she saw, now it was plush carpeting underfoot and exquisite architecture. The interior work of the metro ‹‹SBC Glocken›› certainly suited her tastes better – especially the Sun Cluster apartments which were the most expensive apartments in GGO. She wasn't a fan of over-the-top ritzy accommodations, preferring the more down-to-earth feel of her own apartment, but she could see the appeal.

The door to eight-zero-two slid open revealing a girl with medium-length blonde curly hair with two large segments coming down to rest on her shoulders. Three whisker marks that adorned her cheeks angled up towards emerald green eyes that shone in the bright lighting of the hallway. She was dressed in a casual t-shirt and shorts, clearly not expecting visitors. A large grin was plastered on her face when she saw who knocked. "Well, well, if it isn't my favorite person in Black Mutt!" She stepped aside, gesturing into her apartment. "Didn't send the Weasel this time? He's usually the one that come's knocking."

Sinon smiled, "It's good to see you too Argo." Argo was an information broker that many players went to for information, her nickname was the ‹‹Rat››, due to her fabled ability to move unseen and her knowledge of almost everything and anything that happened within ‹‹SBC Glocken››. ‹‹Black Dog›› used her almost exclusively due to her wealth of information that had never steered them wrong, even if she had the highest price. That, and she was more pleasant to work with than the competition.

Argo's apartment was well furnished, paid for by her hard, tireless work as an information broker. The walls were a warm red, the interior furniture colored to match the walls. Soft jazz played through the speakers of a stereo, one of the more expensive units that had many songs programmed in it to play. The far window that took up about five feet of the wall had vanilla curtains pulled apart to showcase the beautiful view of the city. Sinon couldn't help but find herself drawn to the view. "I'm still rather jealous of your apartment, Argo." She joked, watching as the traffic far below drove through lit up highways and streets, players looking to be the size of insects as they moved through the cities night life.

Argo gave a hearty giggle as she walked up behind Sinon. "Thanks. But I'm sure you didn't come here for just the view Sinonon."

Sinon turned, looking a bit embarrassed, both at her statement and the pet nickname Argo had given her. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get so side tracked, and I hope you don't mind me coming over at such a late time?"

"Not at all, you're such a good client and all. I always have time for you guys." Argo spoke, as she turned and crossed her arms behind her back as she started walking towards two red felt couches that were rimmed with stained wood. "Now, I'm sure you've come for some information?" Her voice hid the excitement that the promise of fresh credits would always bring.

Sinon's face turned a touch more serious as she nodded, "Yes. I was hoping you might be able to tell me about a player named Kirito."

Argo's walk faltered for a moment as she froze mid-step for only a fraction of a second, before she continued. ". . . Kirito, you say?" She turned with a smile, motioning to the couch across from her. "Have a seat."

Sinon noticed the change, but didn't point it out as she moved to the couch, pulling off her jacket as she did so. She sat down across from Argo, unable to avoid smiling as the plush seating embraced her with a gentle comfort. She looked to Argo, who had – what Sinon described to others as – her business smile on. "So," Sinon started, leaning forward, "What's the price?"

Argo's eyes glinted for a moment, but her face remained the same. "100,000,000 credits."

Sinon's jaw dropped. She felt stunned by the verbal right hook that had been landed on her. Argo's prices were never cheap – but this?! "A-Argo. . ." she started, trying to pick her jaw up into a semi-smile, "Are you sure that's right?"

"Yep." Argo replied simply, crossing one leg over the other.

Sinon's mind tried to make sense of the price tag attached to the man. The most they'd ever paid for information was 50,000 credits, and that was for five different men, this was two-hundred times that amount! She studied Argo's mischievous face, that gleamed at her with a take-it-or-leave-it look. Was it possible that Argo knew Kirito was ‹‹The Black Swordsman››? She knew it wasn't out of the realm of possibility, Argo was certainly the best in the business for a reason. "Why in the world does he cost so much?"

Her only answer was a wide toothy grin from Argo, that clearly reiterated her price tag for the boy. It was obvious that any information pertaining to him was going to be way out of her pocket book. It was then that a thought stuck her, something that might be another way to go about it. "Alright, then what do you know about ‹‹The Black Swordsman››?"

Argo was silent for a moment, but she never lost her grin. "200,000 credits – hey, don't make that face." Argo spoke, seeing Sinon's incredulous stare. "You're asking for some juicy info that doesn't come cheap. It was rather dangerous to come by."

Sinon grumbled as she looked down at her HUD, seeing that she had 515,383 credits. She'd been saving every credit she could earned as a bounty hunter, knowing she'd need it. She tapped her foot once, on the carpet and clicked her tongue. "Fine." She replied, opening a trade window with the amount asked for.

Argo could hear the sounds of coins clinking in her mind as she hit accept and the rather sizable sum in the corner of her screen grew. "Thank you very much." She replied, before uncrossing her legs. "‹‹The Black Swordsman››, as you know, is the most wanted player on the server. He's racked up an impressive bounty of over 100,000,000 credits, and that's just the estimated amount due to the fact the only murders we know of are the bodies that have been found. There could be countless more, though we wouldn't know. His name isn't known, age, nor what gender he is."

"What is known, is that all of the players that have been found dead have been orange players. To current understanding he hasn't killed any white players, at least not beyond the first kill he would have had to make."

A small gear turned in Sinon's head, while murder was still murder, the fact that ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› had possibly only killed orange players told her that he was either someone that was killing out of some sort of personal rules or perhaps all his kills had been in self-defense. According to what was known of the bounty system, kills committed by an orange player counted against them regardless of system recognizing an act as self-defense. Of course it could just be a coincidence too, a rather large one but still.

"Not many people have lived to tell about his fighting style, but he fights with a massive ‹‹Greatsword››, easily the size of himself, meaning he has to have a rather large STR score. The sword itself has been said to take any kind of shot or explosion, so the sword has to be made of some strong material. If it's a special item, no one knows."

Sinon recalled the sights and sounds she heard in the dungeon. ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› had been parrying the boss's massive steel claws like they were regular strikes. The speed he swung his sword to parry her bullet still haunted her. How the hell could anyone do something like that – it was inhuman.

"The few people that have seen him and tried to find out his name have been met with a ‹‹?››, it's believed that he has some kind of rare item on him that hides his name."

"It might be the cloak." Sinon spoke, making Argo blink.

"What do you mean?" Argo asked, leaning forward even more, her ears perked up as they eagerly drank at any information they could. Her mouth curved into an interested smile.

It was Sinon's turn to grin, her mouth upturning into a small smirk. "100,000 credits."

Argo's smile only grew wider, her eyebrow arching. "It seems Sinonon learns this game quick." She appreciated the gesture, it was good when her clients had some backbone. She might have bartered the price down normally, but Sinon was a friend. She quickly threw over a trade window with the asked amount.

Sinon happily hit accept, glad to see at least half her credits come back. "The cloak he wore was probably some type of special item that masks a player name. I ran into the same thing with another player earlier, and it had to be the same one ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› had."

Argo's eyes narrowed a bit. "Are you sure that player wasn't ‹‹The Black Swordsman››? It seems rather off to me that the game would include multiple items with a rather strong ability like that."

Sinon's mouth pursed as she looked down. She still felt indebted to Kirito for what he did for her. And now with the information of the only players he killed being orange players, that meant he might not be as bad as she thought. "I didn't see a ‹‹Greatsword›› on him. . . but that doesn't mean he just left in unequipped, so it could have been."

Argo seemed to study Sinon for a moment, before closing her eyes and give a small 'hmph', before shrugging. "It sounds like it might very well be the cloak. That's good information, thanks Sinonon."

"There's a bit more – there's no need to pay me for this." She chuckled, seeing the look in Argo's eye. "‹‹The Black Swordsman›› cleared the first dungeon."

Argo nodded. "You wouldn't get any credits out of me," she taunted with a small grin. "I already knew that."

Sinon looked surprised. "Wow, that only happened a few hours ago, how . . ." she trailed off with a chuckle, at seeing the grin on Argo's face. "I suppose that's not that hard for you considering your contacts."

"I also know you should probably go see the rest of Black Mutt and let Grandpa, Samurai and Weasel know you're doing okay Sinonon, it's not nice to let them worry."

Sinon gave a small smile, "That's where I'm headed after, I just had to come see you first."

Argo grinned and jumped to her feet, Sinon following her to the door, grabbing her jacket to put it on as she went. "Well, it was good doing business with you Sinonon, but next time lets meet somewhere to get desert hmm? There's that really nice restaurant just a few blocks away remember?"

Sinon's mouth watered a bit at the notion of food, she hadn't eaten yet today, and her brain was starting to get impatient. She turned at the door and gave the shorter girl a smile. "I'd like that Argo, we shou – eh?!" Argo suddenly wrapped her arms around Sinon and pressed her head into the other girls neck. "Argo?"

"Sinonon," she started, it was muffled into the cloth of her shirt before Argo pulled away with a bit of sad smile. "Be careful okay? I was really worried about you when I heard the news, you know?" She looked away with a bit of a blush. "You're my friend, I don't want anything bad to happen, okay?"

Sinon gave a small smile as she returned the embrace. "Thank you, Argo." She felt her heart warm at the tender touch of the mousey girl. She didn't have anyone in real life that she could consider a friend, she wasn't used to such a wonderful sensation as having people worry about her. It truly was something she didn't take for granted.

Argo pulled away with a small hop, leaving a fading glow where she had pressed up against Sinon. "Okay, enough of the mushy stuff now. Hurry up and go see the others." Her wide grin spoke volumes of the blondes mood.

Sinon nodded, opening the door. "I'll see you later Argo." She gave a final smile before walking out into the hallway, her ‹‹Lovely Angel›› patch being the last thing seen before the door shut.

Argo waited for a moment, as she stared at the door. She closed her eyes, exhaling a sigh before opening a PM window, her face turning serious, scrolling through a long list of contacts before coming to a stop over the name ‹‹Kirito››.

_Ki__i-bou__, _the message started as her fingers flew over the virtual keyboard. _I have some new information for you. __This __ones gonna cost you though__. _She sent the PM and began navigating her window, equipping her dark clothing and her ‹‹Cloak›› and dual ‹‹Sig Sauer P226 MK 25››'s. She glanced over at her mirror, her face no longer holding the same mischievous look, but a serious look that was out of place on the girl. She ran to her laptop, opening the program that was hacked into the apartments security system, and saw Sinon was on her way out the front door in the lobby.

Pulling the ‹‹Cloak››'s hood up over her head, Argo ran out of the apartment.

XXXX

Lawman's Whistle was a famous NPC bar and lounge known for attracting clients that lived up to it's name sake. Here you could find most of the biggest bounty hunter groups relaxing at the end of the day, along with other like minded individuals. The bar was made to look like an old saloon, though it had all the modern accommodations one expected from and establishment within ‹‹SBC Glocken››. It tended to play harder rock, along with some older music, but it kept an upbeat atmosphere, though for three of the current occupants, the music did nothing to change their moods.

Dyne propped himself against the bar, leaning onto his elbows. In his right hand he held a glass of seven year whiskey. He stared down into the watered down drink, the virtual ice having already melted thus warping the taste. His mind focused on the strange complexity that the developers must have gone into to code such a feature. It was better than thinking about Sinon. His face sunk further into it's crestfallen state, his body sagging. It'd been three or so hours since they escaped the dungeon. The entire roof of the boss room had collapsed, leaving an insurmountable wall of rubble that had no way around it. Until the room fixed itself twenty four hours after the damage was done, there was no way to check and see if she. . . his lips pursed together, his shaking hand wanting to drink the untouched whiskey, though no matter what he did, this horrible feeling wouldn't leave him.

Behind him, he knew Ginrou was seated at their table with Klein. Ginrou had headphones plugged in, listening to music was aimlessly doing calculations on his phone, trying to figure out how much damage falling rubble could do, the chance of it missing, anything to assure him that Sinon could have survived the damage.

Klein sat hunched over with his head in his hands, feeling utterly lost. Not only had they not heard back from Sinon, but when he went back to the ‹‹Bottom Luck Lady››, the little girl Rei had dissapeared, making it two women he'd failed in one day. His eyes clenched shut, as he cursed his own weakness. He tried to move the rubble in the room, but it was impossible. Now all he could do was sit in the damn bar, replaying the scene over in his head, tormenting himself and going over what he could have done. He could have ran to her side, to rescue her with how close he was. Rather, he reacted on instinct, fleeing back to where Dyne and Ginrou stood.

He could still remember, looking through the falling curtain of earth and metal, seeing the figure of ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› standing behind it, remaining unmoving. The crumpled unconscious body of Sinon, a large K.O. Status indicator over her. It soon was covered by the piling rocks, and the last thing he saw was ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› turning with a wave of his cloak, before Dyne yanked him by the shoulder to drag him out of the room as the damage started spreading to where they were.

The thunderous sound of the rocks crashing echoed in all their minds. The phantom sounds were loud enough in their minds to cancel out anything else that was trying to register within their heads. ". .en? Klein, hellooo?"

Klein barely became aware of a gloved feminine hand being waved in front of his face. He turned, following the brown leather jacketed arm up to a pair of amused looking blue eyes. It took a full second for his mind to register who was standing by him.

Sinon smiled at Klein. "Sorry for making you worry, you guys look terrible." She saw the look of shock still frozen on his face, and gave a look of mock worry. "I'm not actually a ghost am I?" She joked, turning her hand over in front of her face. "Nope, looks plenty real to me – _eeeee!" _She let out a small shriek as Klein jumped to his feet, snatching the girl in an unexpected hug.

"Sinon!" Klein shouted out. "You're alive!" Dyne spun in his seat, looking amazed as he saw the sniper alive and well. His forlorn features melted into a soft smile, a gruff sigh escaping his lips as he grabbed his hat and put it back on, walking over towards the two. Ginrou still hadn't noticed, his face buried into his PDA.

"_Eeh?! _Klein, wha-what are you doing?!" Sinon stammered, her arms locked into place by his body. Her face burned up as she saw others turning and staring at her. It was then she noticed how his arms shook. Her embarrassment started to fade, as she gently pushed him back to look at him. "Klein. . ." She spoke, as she saw his eyes were clenched shut, tears brimming at the lids.

Klein still held Sinon by her shoulders, using one hand to hastily wipe away the small evidence of tears. "Oi, Sinon. . . I'm. . . I," he started, his voice heavy as he opened his weary eyes. "I'm really sorry." He managed to say, making the girl look confused. "I could have. . .I, I could have done something but –!"

Sinon interrupted him with a warm smile, and the shake of her head. "It's okay Klein, if you'd have done anything besides what you had, you probably would have gotten crushed by the roof. I'm glad you guys are okay." She let out a small _ouch! _As Dyne walked up behind her with a light rap on the top of her head with a knuckle. "Hey!" She moaned out, looking back to Dyne.

"Answer your PM's next time." Dyne spoke, his tone light. "You probably shaved a few years off my life making me worry like that."

Sinon frowned as she looked between the two, feeling bad now for not replying when she first noticed. "You guys. . ." she paused as she looked between their two happy faces. "I'm sorry." She felt an unexplainable warmth in her chest, borne from the concern they had for her well-being. She always considered the friends, the thought of them dying hurt her but, to see the effects it had really touched her. Was this what it would be like, to have a brother and father?

Dyne smirked, before looking over at Klein. "Well, you made some of us worry more than others." He tapped on Klein's arm. "How long are you gonna hang onto her like that? People are going to start spreading rumors you know. That little ‹‹Rat›› would make a killing off this."

Klein glanced down at where his hands still remained firm on her shoulders, along with the faint blush Sinon still held. His face became indistinguishable from his hair, as his hands shot away from her as he yelped, "_Aah! _S-sorry! I didn't, I-I wasn't – I mean! _Gah!" _Klein gave up and ran away, shooting around the table to where Ginrou still sat with his head buried and music blaring into his ears. "_Ginrou! L-Look who's here!" _Klein shouted as he tore Ginrou from his seat and stood him up, making the hacker panic as he glanced around.

His goggled eyes met Sinon's. His jaw dropped open. "S-Sinon!" the hacker cried, before leaping onto the table and using it as a spring board to try and tackle her into a hug. His intended target had already been victim to one unannounced embrace however, and hopped left, Ginrou careening into the occupied table behind them with a large crash, sending plates of half-eaten food flying.

Sinon let out a nervous laugh, feeling bad for the man as the tables occupants hurled insults and curses at the misguided human rocket who lay dazed in the destroyed dinner. Dyne grumbled as he shook his head, heading over to the table as he put on the most apologetic face he could. He was rather used to having diffused situations like these.

"I'm glad you're okay Sinon." Klein spoke, making the girl turn his way. "But, how did you get out of there?" Many more questions presented themselves to the red-head, as he barely took note of Dyne's attempts at diplomacy with the rough looking mercenaries across from them.

Sinon stared at Klein for a moment, her mouth opening partly, before she stopped. There should be nothing stopping her from sharing the information she held, but part of her wondered if the others would insist on finding Kirito, especially Klein. She meet Klein's eyes for a moment, her indecision written plain as day in her blue eyes.

Klein gave a wide grin. "Eh, never mind that for now!" He spoke, pulling out a chair. He could see on her face there was a story behind it, one that she didn't want to tell. It troubled him, but he wouldn't let it show. He knew she'd talk when she was ready. "C'mon, you gotta be starving!"

As if hearing the words, Sinon's stomach let out a small growl, making her try and cover her stomach with one hand to silence it. She blushed for a moment before taking off her jacket and draping it across the back of her chair, . hearing the sounds of Ginrou apologizing profusely at the insistence of Dyne before opening her menu. She gave a silent word of thanks to Klein, glad he changed the subject. But she couldn't duck this forever, she needed to sort out her feelings, and soon.

XXXX

The patrons of Lawman's Whistle thinned out, the hour now close to midnight, as the music changed in volume and type (soft rock being the choice now) according to the number of patrons in the bar, which at the moment were only the members of ‹‹Black Dog›› and the NPC bartender that stood cleaning glasses in an endless repetition until it was interacted with. At the lone table that ‹‹Black Dog›› called their own, the four sat comfortably, their meal long since finished, and conversation pleasant. The topic of Sinon's survival had come up again, but Klein had interjected, saying that they shouldn't ruin their dinner with such talk.

So they sat, enjoying the last few moments of the night before it became too late, each with a drink of choice held in their hands, a cigarette dangling from Dyne's mouth. Dyne took a small drag from his cigarette, as he heard Ginrou speak, "C'mon Dyne, when are you gonna tell us what you did back in real life?"

Dyne looked over at the young man with an irritated smile. "Does it really matter?" He tapped off his excess ashes, and the disappeared into air with the faintest hint of the data being deleted. He certainly enjoyed that feature.

"Sure it does." Klein added, "We all got reasons that we want to go home, and it's good to remember them from time to time. I never thought I'd miss my desk job, but I do."

"Speak for yourself on that one." Ginrou replied, having just taken a large drink of his draft beer. "I worked at a convenience store. I don't miss having to bow and scrape to all the normalfags that came in all the time." He didn't notice that the others were lost on the internet slang term used.

Sinon remained silent, edging the rim of her glass. There wasn't a job or anything back in the real world for her, only school and her mother. Her eyes softened, as they always did when she thought of her frail mother. She did her best to hope she would be okay and focus on the game, to focus on survival. Her mother was an adult, and took care of herself just fine, as Sinon lived away from home to attend her high school, but it didn't stop her from praying that her mother was doing okay without her.

Dyne took a moment to consider, as he took another draw from his cigarette, holding the smoke as he thought. Letting out a long exhale, the digital smoke blowing from his mouth he, nodded. "Fine." he started. The three all leaned forward, ready to hear whether or not their long debates and bet making would pay off, and see which of the three would be right. "I was -" Dyne was cut off as a loud beeping cut through the air, making them all jump.

At the side of the table, a line cut itself through thin air, a long rectangular shape with white static filling the gap. The line then grew into a full screen, extending up and down until it reached a widescreen ratio. The tables occupants all stared with open mouths at the static screen, never seeing such an alien and out of place thing, before the screen blinked once to show a single man from the chest up, a red curtain encompassing the area behind him.

The man looked to be in his mid-thirties. He had mid-length white curly hair, his dark blue eyes thin and long with a charismatic gleam to them. He wore a crisp white suit, with a black undershirt and red tie. His white gloved hands appeared on screen, loosely entwined in a steepled form, coming to peak just underneath his pursed lips that curved into a refined smile.

"_Greetings ‹‹Black Dog››." _The figure began, his voice like flowing silk played through unseen speakers. _"I do apologize for interrupting you at such a late hour." _

Sinon's eyebrow arched as she tried to make sense of the situation. "Who. . . are you?" She started, being the first to break their silence.

The man smiled wider, his eyes moving to make contact with Sinon's. _"Forgive me. I am Nero, CEO of the Fuller Corporation. You are Sinon, are you not?" _Nero maintained his eye contact with the girl, her surprised look being enough for an answer. _"As I thought." _He turned his gaze back to the others, the ghost of a fading smirk upon him. _"I've come before you all with an offer. You four are to date, the only party that has come across the most wanted man in ‹‹SBC Glocken›› and lived to tell the tale. __As such, I want to offer you all a Job." _As he spoke, windows appeared before all four members of ‹‹Black Dog››, making them lean back in surprise.

Dyne's brow furrowed as he read the short text out loud. "Subdue or eliminate ‹‹The Black Swordsman››. The reward is the bounty, plus a rare item of the players choice upon completion." He murmured, the rather short quest text filling in the description making him feel uneasy. As he stared down at the _Accept_and _Decline_he couldn't help but feel something strange, his gut was telling him something was up. When he looked up at the others, he saw the same look on Klien's face.

"This is way too weird." Klein spoke, as he crossed his arms.

"Not really." Ginrou replied, making the other three look to him. Realizing he'd become the center of attention, he felt a small burst of panic. "I-I mean, it's just the Cardinal System." At the strange looks he got, he continued. "It's a feature in GGO, in order to ensure the longevity of the game, the developers put in a dynamic quest system that would be able to generate new and unique quests – sometimes tailored to players, and even evolve mid-quest line depending on how it progressed. They boasted saying that quests generated by the Cardinal System wouldn't be bound by preset dialogue lines and tasks, all of it being custom tailored by an AI."

"How did you know about that?" Klein asked, amazed.

"I kept up with the development. It was really kept under wraps for the most part, but this was a feature they toted about a lot." He looked back down at the quest text, an appreciative smile on his face. "I have to say though, generating a quest to fight another player, though? That's impressive." His smile faded, remembering that people died when they were killed in GGO.

Sinon stared at the three words, ‹‹The Black Swordsman››. It seemed that ever since they first met him, their fates had become inexplicably tied with his – even the game was pushing them towards a conflict. She looked up at the other three, and saw the same thoughts she held reflected in their eyes. Nero remained unmoving, his gaze not wavering.

"Well." Dyne began, letting loose a long breath as he put his cigarette into the ash tray holder next to him. "What do we do?" They always made decisions as a team. This time was no different.

They all remained silent, each alone with their thoughts. Every time they'd went on a hunt, it was the same thing, they all knew the risks involved in hunting down dangerous people that would try and kill them. The only difference, was this target had shown himself capable of taking down a boss unassisted.

Ginrou picked up his head, pulling off his goggles, bringing everyone's attention to him. He looked at Dyne, his eyes brimming with a resolve none of them had ever seen on the usually meek hacker. "We do it. This guy was the reason we almost lost Sinon. I have a bone to pick with him."

Klein chuckled, crossing his arms. "I got a reason to see him too. I say we go after him." His toothy grin spread, as he nodded at Ginrou.

Dyne half-smiled, his cheek pressing up from the movement. "I don't think I've ever heard Ginrou so ready for a bounty hunt before. This must be the one we all don't come back from. Hell, I'm in."

All eyes turned to Sinon, who looked at them each in turn. She closed her eyes, as she recalled the events from earlier tonight from when she'd spent but a brief moment with her rescuer. This was something she'd expected, something they'd both known about from the moment they'd parted on the side of the road. And maybe, this time she would finally ease the troubled feelings she had in her heart by facing him. She gave a firm nod and pressed the _Accept_ button. The other three grinned and hit _Accept_.

"_Very good." _Nero spoke, coming out his stasis like trance. A small notification sound alerted the four to an item being placed inside their inventory, a small notification window appearing with the words _Added to Inventory x1 ‹‹Tracker›› _. As they all navigated their menus, looking for the item in question, Nero continued. _"I've given you all a ‹‹Tracker››. It's connected to one of our satellites and will find the criminal in question, allowing you to hunt him down more effectively." _

Ginrou found the ‹‹Tracker››, and used it. A small mini map opened in front of him, showing a green topographical map of the surrounding area. A small red dot blinked, moving slowly away from the city, headed northwest. "Amazing. . ." Ginrou spoke, looking at the dot. "If this thing is legit, then ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› has left the city, about fifty miles out to the northwest, and he's still moving."

"_I wish you luck ‹‹Black Dog››. May the best man win." _Nero's image blinked out, leaving the air where the virtual monitor had appeared whole again.

The four looked to each other. "Alright. Seeing as it's late, we're not heading out until the morning." Dyne spoke, the rest nodding in agreement. "We'll meet back here at eight in the morning. Make sure you're stocked up on everything and ready to go. This is going to be our biggest job to date." Dyne spoke, standing up and grabbing his hat. He was in leader mode now, which meant he was all business. "Get some shut eye, we'll need it."

Everyone else stood, grabbing their respective items as their food and refreshments disappeared. As they all said their final good nights, heading out to their sleeping areas that lie near the bar, Sinon couldn't help but feel troubled. At the very last moment, just as the screen shut, she swore she saw the most wicked smirk appear on Nero's face. With her brow knit, she sighed, and headed for the door, chalking it up to her imagination.

XXXX

Besides the main government building of ‹‹SBC Glocken››, two more monsters took residence among the top skyline. The Yokohama Universal Industries and Fuller Corporation's headquarters. The opposing corporations were built across from each other like towering gladiators, poised at each other, always reminded of the competition, their black steel bodies gleaming with the reflections of the neon lights below.

At the top floor of the Fuller Corporation's tower, floor was a massive room, covering corner to corner of the building in a luxurious office meant for it's emperor, it's leader, it's CEO. Two of the walls, the one that face towards the city, the other the Yokohama building, were floor to ceiling windows, allowing the viewer to behold all of ‹‹SBC Glocken››'s glamourized majesty. A single desk sat alone by the window, it's owner dressed in a white suit standing in a satisfied way. Soft classical music played, filling the room, the current piece a favorite of the man's: Der Erlkönig.

Nero smiled. How he did love a good play, even more so when he was the one behind the stage. His hand swept down to the wine glass that awaited his touch, filled with the finest red wine. His gloved hand cradled the glass, as he turned towards his side. "Well, my friend, it seems as though our first Act has begun, wouldn't you say?"

Five feet from Nero, ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› stood, unmoving. His black cloak remained as still as it's owner, the face ever covered with the darkness that could not be seen through. Nero smiled as the swordsman remained as silent as ever. He turned, walking towards the window that overlooked ‹‹SBC Glocken››, noting the reflections of the city below on the bottom of the glass. "The stage has been set, the actors chosen." He swirled the wine in his glass, leaving long even trails of wine where it touched. "Now we only require our hero." He turned with a grin towards ‹‹The Black Swordsman››. "You really should thank that information broker. We might have never known otherwise."

Again ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› remained silent.

"This is why I enjoy you so. I can respect a man devoted to his task. Go forth then, my assassin. The tracker program will keep them away from the appointed ‹‹Stage of Destiny›› until you are ready." Nero waved his hand, and the swordsman bowed his head, before turning and walking towards the elevator door that was across the expansive room.

Nero turned his head back towards the city below. It had been sometime since he had the chance to have such fun. In truth, he could have chosen anyone for the curtain's opening. But something about these four intrigued him. Anyone who would continue on to face a man who slew fifteen men were either the greatest fools or brave beyond measure. _Yes. . . _Nero thought with a grin. _Only actors of their caliber shall be allowed within my Play. _And what a magnificent Play it shall be.

Nero lifted the glass under his nose as he swirled it twice, causing the earthy and fruity aroma to drift up to his nose. He sipped it, withholding an exhale of pleasure as the dry liquid moved about his mouth, playing sweet havoc upon his tongue. He savored every drop as he swallowed, raising the glass in front of him, the red wine being illuminated by the light. He sighed contentedly, as he swung his hand over towards the window that pointed towards Yokohama Universal Industries building, maneuvering the glass to where it's rim gave the illusion of resting just under the bright neon letters of the corporations name on the top edge of the building.

"To you, Kayaba, my dear departed friend. For creating such a wonderful and magnificent place where I can enjoy such pleasures." A wide wicked grin broke his serene face, and a low cackle slithered from his lips and echoed within the empty room as the city below illuminated his twisted face.

XXX

And cut! That's it for now! I hope the next chapter will come out sooner than this one, but as I explained above I had some technical difficulties to attend to.

As always, please leave me a review below and let me know what you think, good or bad!

Until next time,

Shinobi no Ryu


	4. The Sea of Sand

Hey all! Sorry for the lag between chapters, the holidays really kicked my ass. All my close friends and my dad share birthdays around this time too, so I've been busy between throwing parties for people and attending stuff so I haven't had much time to sit down and write. Finally did though, and am I glad for it! I won't take up any more of your time, I hope you enjoy!

XXXX

_It was cold. It was just a game, but it was colder than any weather she'd ever felt before in reality._

_Sinon hugged her knees closer to her chest, trying to tuck her hands into whatever fold of clothing or part of her leg she could to try and feel her fingers again.. The small fire that crackled before her danced mechanically, giving it an eerie feeling. Small embers cracked away in preset motions, the occasional sound effect of firewood crackling played. Tired ice blue eyes stared into the heart of the fire, as she wished it generated more heat. But she didn't have enough extra ‹‹Firewood››, or what passed for firewood, to make the fire that large and maintain it. Wood was scare in the ‹‹Sea of Sand››, possibly in the whole game. She only was able to find small bits of rotten wood from destroyed buildings, everything else being large housing timbers, and being far too hard to use. _

_It had been two weeks since the death game had begun, two weeks since she had been plunged into hell. Her hands gripped her legs tight as she shook, feeling her mind start to become unfocused and panicked. She had to hold onto herself, her sanity, with every ounce of strength she could muster. Why, why did this happen to her? _

_She could still remember the first day that led her here, the day when she heard about GGO in an online article. She'd been at home, sitting in her small apartment that she stayed in while she went to school – alone and tired. She had once more found herself wrapped in her blanket, seeking what warmth and comfort she could, pressed up against her bed's backboard with her laptop on her lap. Her school bully, Endou, had once more used her fear of guns to steal money from her, though in reality Shino had given it over without a fight, anything to get the terrifying image of that gun away from her. _

_She was a failure, she knew. A broken human being that couldn't even fight back against something as simple as a hand mimicking a gun, something a child could do. Her eyes shut tight, as she fought the urge to cry, she'd already lost enough to others today, she didn't need to lose to herself. She did her best to distract herself with her laptop, searching the web for anything, when she came across a single article. _

_'The future of multiplayer gaming, the VRMMO.' _

_She clicked it, more out of desperation to read anything than actual interest. She enjoyed games, sure, but she couldn't really label herself as a gamer. The article contained something she hadn't expected, information about an upcoming game called Gun Gale Online, a co-developed American/Japanese game that would be the world's first VRMMO. A wild idea popped into her desperate mind, a single ray of hope that she might finally be able to banish the darkness that held her soul enthralled. If she could interact with guns on a daily basis, knowing she couldn't be harmed by them, perhaps she could overcome her hoplophobia once and for all. If she could learn to become strong in that world, then just maybe – no, she believed she would! She would conquer GGO and in turn that strength would bleed over into reality!_

_She'd pre-ordered the costly NervGear and entered her information into GGO's early invitation system. She waited for months, each day GGO found it's way into her thoughts more and more as the day of limited release drew near. A week before the release, she received the congratulations letter with her activation code, she didn't know if she wanted to cry or scream in joy. She even let her mother know what she was trying to do, hoping for her blessing, which she received unconditionally. Her mother was like that – she always supported her no matter what. _

_She had been so blown away when she first beheld ‹‹SBC Glocken››'s splendor that she'd bumped into another player. She had reacted a bit too harshly, but she had been too embarrassed she'd ran into someone else, a boy at that. She spent most of the first few hours just exploring the world with an almost child like joy. She even found that she could touch the handgun equipped to her character without any ill effects on her psyche, which made her unbelievably happy. _

_But then, everything changed. _

_When she had been thrust into that packed street full of people, she had been confused. When the AI spoke to them, she had been relieved for a very short moment, until it informed them all of the nightmare they had been forced into. _

_She'd fallen to her knees, her hearing dimmed by the thunderous beat of her own heart. She covered her ears, praying it would stop the sound, but it only intensified. Her vision swam and jerked, unknowing it was her own sweat drenched body that reacted that way. She had to get out, she had to leave. This wasn't real, she could possibly be stuck in such a place, surrounded by people with guns that could kill her. So many guns, no matter where she looked, the horrible L shaped pieces of metal surrounded her! _

_There was no way this was real, it couldn't be. _

_So she ran. She didn't think, she didn't speak to anyone, she just ran, she had to get away from the danger. Things like destination, paths, obstacles, none of this registered in her mind as she fled, running, stumbling, tripping. When she finally came to her senses, she was in an unfamiliar place. She was in some dark alleyway, the neon lights of Glocken flickering into the small dark space. A smell like rotting fruit assaulted her, but she didn't care, as she leaned against the wall, catching her breath. _

_She was alone, and that was enough for her for now. Until she saw the gun on her waist. She screamed, taking the gun and flinging it far away from her. She heard it violently clatter and skip in the dark alley, and she shook her head, backing away from where she threw it. She needed to find someplace to be safe, somewhere no one could find her. But, as she emerged from the alleyway, the familiar panic crept into her again. Everywhere she looked, she saw things that reminded her of this horrible place, advertisements for guns, commercials that showcased their firepower, the sounds of gunfire filling her ears. _

_Then, she heard the sound of human life. She snapped her head over, seeing a destitute looking man trudging along the sidewalk with his head down. The gun at his side was the problem. She felt her heartbeat start to quicken again, she couldn't trust this place, she had to leave. Turning, she began to walk as fast as she could. She stuck to as many shadows as she could, feeling like a scared cat that was desperately seeking refuge. _

_She eventually found herself outside of Glocken, now in the ‹‹Sea of Sand››, late into the night. She was exhausted, between walking and dealing with her fear, but she couldn't stop, not until she felt safe. She continued to trudge through the sand, her throat burning from a virtual dehydration and stomach growling. But she didn't care, as she stumbled, always keeping one eye over her back. When she was hours from Glocken, the city now no more than a twinkle in the distance, she finally found what she was looking for. _

_A cave, hidden in a rocky outcrop that emerged from the ‹‹Sea of Sand››. A small entrance was hidden well, and she threw herself into it's dark, safe, confines. She passed out before her head even touched the rocky ground below. _

_There she remained, only leaving to scavenge for food and other sorts of supplies around the cave in small buildings that she guessed was once a small town, now it was only a forest of broken wood, masonry and steel that tried to remain above the tides of sand. She had to be wary of monsters, giving them a wide berth and always being cautious as she used her ‹‹Stealth›› to move about. _

_She had too many close encounters within a week of her exodus with other players – both docile looking and hostile. Players had begun edging out to the ‹‹Sea of Sand››, thus making her more wary each day, she didn't trust anyone. At night, gunshots would carry on the arid winds, drifting into her small cave, making her jump in fear, her heart threatening to burst from her chest every time. There was a small corner in the cave that she would sit in, praying the world would come to a halt, so she could return to her poor mother, who she knew had to be out of her mind with grief. But no matter how hard she prayed, how hard she cried, the uncaring world ignored her. _

_The crackle of the fire snapped one last time, as it faded into digital dust, snapping Sinon from her memories. The cave was plunged into darkness, and she gave a small groan as the cold assaulted her skin anew. If only she could find some real clothing beyond this terrible starting gear. She opened the skill menu, using her ‹‹Survival›› skill, placing another bundle of ‹‹Firewood›› and using a ‹‹Flint›› to strike up a fire. When it came to life with a small pop, she settled back into the cave wall with a sigh of feigned satisfaction. Her ears perked up, the smallest sound of a rock being knocked from it's spot and tumbling down alerting her to something outside. _

_Her head snapped over, her eyes wide with fear. A small grunt was heard, and something appeared, pulling itself up over the edge of the rock face to appear in the cave opening. Her mouth opened into a silent scream as she saw a man, his face looking desperate and deranged. His hair was matted on his rounded face, thin black strands sticking to his sweaty skin. His beady black eyes that peered over high cheeks locked onto her thin frame with a grin. _

_She backed up against the far wall, into her safe corner, her voice failing her as the man hurried into the cave, his breathing ragged and heated. His lips parted into a wide grin, teeth gleaming in the light of the fire. "Don't scream now." He hushed out, crawling towards her, the cave not tall enough for him to walk through. _

"_L-Leave! Get out!" Sinon spoke, her head shaking. Why, this wasn't supposed to happen – this was the only place she was safe! _

_He smirked, his lips wicked and full of evil intent. His hand went to his side, and he laughed as he saw her shake, her eyes wholly focused on the gun at his side. "You want me to leave?" He cackled, "Then give me everything you have." He pulled out the gun, it's make clear in the firelight, a .38 special S&W Snub Nose Revolver._

"_W-What?" She whispered. Memories came to her, of the worst day of her life. Her heartbeat was deafening in her ears. This couldn't be happening again. No, why?_

_The man's face turned serious, his grin turning into a scowl. "Don't play stupid girl. Give me all your stuff now or," he stepped closer, now past the fire and only a foot away from her as he raised the gun, pointing in between her eyes. "I don't think I need to explain?" _

_Her mouth stammered, her hands shook and she found herself unable to speak, unable to act. The robber took this as a sign of defiance. "Stupid bitch." He growled. He shot over to her, making her scream out as he slammed into her, his knee pressing into her gut as he grabbed a handful of her hair. "Don't you get it?! Gimme all your shit or you die!" _

_The pain of him pressing her into the wall was too real, it made her cry out as the rocks behind her pressed into her body. Something within her told her that this was no joke, no nightmare that she could wake from. This man had every intention of stealing her things, hurting her if she didn't comply. She felt hot tears prick at her eyes, spilling down and flinging off her face as she twisted and turned in his grasp, trying desperately to break free. _

_He screamed in frustration, eliciting him to backhand her face with the butt of the gun, a small red mark of damage appearing on her cheek, her HP dropping ten percent. _

"_I swear to god if you do that again, I'll fucking kill you!" The man screamed, as he jammed the gun against her eye. She sat paralyzed, as her left eyes vision was blacked out, but her right eye could make out every little detail of the Smith and Weston revolver that was primed to unleash a small piece of lead that would fire faster than she could comprehend and scatter her avatar's head into a hundred bits of data. Her real body would then be killed in a matter of seconds, and her life would end, her mother would be left all alone in the world and she would cease to be. She didn't feel fear, she didn't feel anything, only a chilling understanding of her circumstances. She did the only thing she could do, in this terrifying world. _

_She screamed. _

XXXX

"Sinon!_ Oi, Sinon_!"

Sinon snapped awake with a shout, confused and felt her heart beating like mad as she stared into the concerned face of Klein who was only inches from her. The feeling of hot, arid wind blew around her, the sensation of a burning hot sun beating down on her through the open window being the first things she felt.

She stared into Klein's concerned, gentle eyes, it made her feel a bit more at ease – though she was still confused as to where she was. She then felt as if she was moving, and glancing to her left she saw she was moving rapidly through the ‹‹Sea of Sand›› and her memories came back to her in a flash, making her sigh with relief. She was in Dyne's convertible, that currently had it's roof put up, headed for the spot the ‹‹Tracker›› was taking them. She had been dreaming. She wasn't actually in that goddamn cave.

"You okay Sinon?" Dyne's voice called out, the reflection of his face showing in the rear view mirror. His eyes were glancing between her and the road. Ginrou was turned around in the front seat, watching her with the same expression Klein held.

Sinon gave a small sigh, before smiling at Klein who had a supportive hand on her shoulder. "Thanks, Klein." She spoke, making the Samurai give a small smile before he returned to his seat. She pushed herself up in her seat.. "I'm okay Dyne, thanks." She spoke just loud enough to be heard over the roar of the engine and the whipping wind.

Dyne stared at her through the rear view mirror, studying the exhausted look on her face. He looked back to the desert ahead, turning to avoid an upcoming piece of spaceship debris, it looked like a piece of a hull. "Was it _that_ dream again?" he asked, the car being briefly shaded by the shadow of the debris.

Sinon's cheeks flushed for a moment from embarrassment, she hated it, the fact she had terrible nightmares of that day, adding to the already plethora of night terrors she held. It was a constant reminder of how she was when she first entered this death game, when she was still the weak girl who needed saving. "Yes." She replied, though it was barely audible.

"Do you remember the end of it?" Dyne asked, as he always did when the topic of Sinon's recurring nightmares came about.

Sinon looked to Dyne. She never understood why he wanted to know about it – it never changed. The dream always ended at the same terrifying point, when she had that gun pressed into her eye. A phantom ache assaulted her as she thought about it, making her wince her eyelid. She never could recall how it ended, however. Not that she didn't dream it, just that she didn't posses the memories. Her memories ended as she screamed, and began again as the criminal's body lied crumpled against her, dead, with Dyne pulling the corpse off her. He had saved her, coming in at the last second after she'd screamed, shooting the rapist dead, or that's what he told her. She supposed either she'd blacked out or had been so terrified her mind shut down to stop any further psychological damage.

The criminal's name had been something she never bothered to learn, if she had to refer to him it was only as Scum. She only knew that he had taken advantage of the death game to carry out his insane revenge plots against women for their "mistreatment" of him in reality. He was some lonely social outcast that hated the world for his own flaws. He captured a few female players, raping and killing them by luring them out of the safe zone by promising to help them level.

Dyne had heard about it, refusing to let it continue, and he formed a party with Klein and Ginrou to hunt down the criminal and bring him to justice thus birthing the eventual ‹‹Black Dog›› bounty hunters that she would join after being taken in under Dyne's wing.

She realized that she had been stuck in her mind, seeing Dyne staring at her expectantly. "It ends like it always does." Dyne's eyes lingered on her image a moment more, before turning back to the road.

"I see." Dyne replied. He caught the looks Ginrou and Klein gave him. He shot a glare towards Ginrou out of the corner of his eye, hoping Klein got the message too. They both held their ground, making Dyne grunt. But no matter what, he would never tell her how the dream ended. She didn't need that.

The car entered into an awkward silence, the only sound being the whipping desert wind, the roar of the engine and the sand being torn up by the large thick tread tires that had been fitted to the vehicle for desert travel, though it killed the car's top speed. Sinon let out a long exhale as she settled back against her seat, trying to ignore the occasional blast of sand against her face, making her consider rolling up the window if it wouldn't turn the inside of the car into a furnace.

She glanced at her time clock at the bottom right of her UI, seeing it was close to noon, she had been asleep for a couple hours, deciding to take a short nap while they drove as she hadn't got much sleep in her apartment. She should have known better, being out in the ‹‹Sea of Sand›› would have brought back unpleasant memories and encouraged her nightmare to show itself.

"Ginrou, how much further?" Sinon asked looking towards the hacker.

Ginrou leaped around in his seat, making Dyne curse as he hit the older man on accident from the sudden movement, though he offered no apology. "We're almost there! ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› hasn't moved since a few hours ago, stopping in what looks like some old town that no one's mapped out yet."

Sinon nodded with a word of thanks. "Alright, just make sure to let us know when we're close, preferable before a sand dune, so we can spy on them, alright?" The hacker eagerly nodded, before turning in his seat again and studying his ‹‹Tracker›› intently.

Sinon decided to check over her equipment once more before they got too close, they might run into trouble sooner than later depending on their luck. She wore a desert camouflaged jacket and pants, the sleeves rolled up to the elbow. It was the same equipment that the others wore whenever they had to go out to the desert save for Dyne who's duster and underclothes matched the camouflage color, so he didn't bother. The only difference with her, was she wore a black body suit underneath that covered her from the neck down, leaving only her feet and fingers uncovered. It was an item called ‹‹Sneaking Skin›› that she had crafted for her, it gave a nice boost to her ‹‹Stealth›› skill, which was useful considering her role.

She double checked her throat microphone, it was secure and currently off. She pulled the earphone up and placed it in her ear. Clicking it one with the front dial by her throat, a burst of static sounded – it was working fine. Her guns were loaded with the proper shocker rounds, with a healthy supply of lethal ammo waiting in her inventory, should it be needed, represented on her person as magazines stuffed into various pockets and belt pouches. The car's inventory had even more ammo in it, all loaded into the trunk.

Satisfied, she glanced over at Klein and saw his head was tilted down, his brows pressed down against his eyes, as he stared at the ‹‹Katana›› he held in his hands with the most troubled gaze she had ever seen on him. She felt an honest worry for the man, he was always so cheerful – he was always the bright spot in their group, able to make any situation seem not so bad. To see such an expression on him was out of character, jarring. She scooted closer to Klein, almost touching his shoulder, though he didn't notice. She waited a moment, seeing if he'd recognize her being there, before calling out to him. "Klein?"

The red-head took a sharp inhale through his nose, his body flinching from his name being called. He looked over to her, his eyes conveying a message that she couldn't understand, but she could see his golden brown orbs were a sea of confusion and sorrow. But, just as a cloud passes by the sun, his eyes regained their usual shine. "What's up?" he asked, glancing down, seeing how close they were to each other, his cheeks tinting a brief pink.

"Are you okay?" Her tone was one of real concern, "You've had these odd moments ever since we first ran into ‹‹The Black Swordsman››." She saw his eyes fall, forlorn, his gaze turning from her for a moment, confirming her suspicions. She glanced towards Dyne and Ginrou, both preoccupied with their current tasks to notice them, much less hear them over the wind. "Does it. . ." she started, whispering just loud enough for him to hear, "Have anything to do with Kirito?"

His eyes widened in an explosion of shock, his mouth hanging agape. "How do you. . .?" he trailed off, remembering that he'd spoken his name when they first met ‹‹The Black Swordsman››.

"It's more than that," she replied, seeing the look on his face. She saw his bewildered look and continued, "What I didn't tell you yesterday, when you asked about how I got out of there?" She leaned in close to his ear, making the swordsman blush again. "I was saved by a player who called himself Kirito." She heard him gasp, turning towards her in shock. She raised a finger to her lips. "Don't. I don't want anyone else to know until after we defeat him." She spoke, again in a hushed whisper.

"But then, does that mean –?" Klein began, before Sinon interrupted with a shake of her head. "I never saw the ‹‹Greatsword››, but he had the same cloak." She saw him flinch, looking as if he'd been hit.

"Why. . . why are you telling me this now?" Klein asked. His hand seemed to almost shake around the hilt of his ‹‹Katana››.

She gave a small sigh, looking down. "I'd planned to wait until after. . .after I was sure it was him. But," she looked at Klein, meeting his eyes. "I can see the way I feel reflected in your face. Kirito, he helped you didn't he?" At his hesitant nod, she continued. "I don't know why he's done the things he has. When I spoke with him, I couldn't even picture him – this cheerful person, being a killer. But, that doesn't mean that we can go easy on him." She paused, allowing him a moment to process what she said. "We have to bring him to justice, it's what we promised to do when we formed ‹‹Black Dog››." She pulled away from him, her hand going up to curl up by her heart, feeling her own words affecting her. "At least, that's how I feel."

"Sinon. . ." Klein whispered as he stared at the small girl before him. He pursed his lips, before bringing his hands up to slap the sides of his face, making the girl jump in surprise. The blow switched his frown into a bright grin, as he turned to look at her. "You're right. Getting all worked up over it before hand won't help any. Besides," Klein raised his ‹‹Katana››, "there's something I have to ask him myself, and this time I'll make him answer it."

"_Ahem!" _

Both turned towards the front of the car, where Ginrou was kneeling and turned around in his seat, gripping onto the leather headrest of the vehicle with white knuckles as he beheld the two. "If you two are _quite done _we're almost there." His voice was full of a jealous envy, as he glared at Klein who only chuckled and held up his hands. That bastard Samurai was going back on his word to not hit on her!

Sinon sighed, before looking at Ginrou with a look of pity. "Thanks." She glanced at her own ‹‹Tracker››. The green topographical map showed that the village was surrounded by a crescent shaped sand dune, quite a tall one at that. Glancing ahead of them, she saw the sand dune in question blocking their view of the village. "Dyne, stop at the foot of the dune, alright?" She pointed past him.

Dyne nodded, "Already planning on it."

The convertible came to a slow stop just short of the dune's incline. The four stared up it's massive height, about fifty feet or more to the crest. The sound of Dyne's door opening gave the others the cue to do the same, as they all stepped out. A gust of hot wind blew Dyne's coat around his feet as he turned, "Klein, Ginrou stay with the car for now. Sinon," he looked towards the girl, "we're going to go scout at the top of the hill, we should be able to see the area at the peak." Sinon nodded, slinging her rifle over shoulder as she walked up towards Dyne. The older man looked back towards Klein and Ginrou as he turned on his throat microphone. "Keep your mics on, and let us know if you see anything weird. If a monster comes by, try not to shoot it, but don't take any risks all the same." Seeing they understood, he motioned to Sinon and they began their steep climb.

Sinon grunted as the sand under her foot shifted, causing her to almost lose her balance, sliding her down half a foot. She caught herself with her hands, making her resort to climbing on all fours behind Dyne who was a few feet ahead of her, not making much better progress himself. She felt the heat of the sand start to penetrate her covered palms and knees, making her curse at the developers. She struggled for every inch, making good progress on areas where the sand was hard packed, slipping and sliding on areas where loose sand caved in under her weight and broke away from the dune. The longer she climbed, the further away the top seemed to be. She did her best to keep her eyes on the path ahead, one step at a time she told herself.

When her hand finally met the angled top of the dune, her fingers sinking under the soft sand, she was out of breath, panting hard. The fact that she could still feel winded in a game was just unfair. She used one arm to wipe away the accumulated sweat on her brow, that thankfully hadn't run into her eyes. Looking to her left, she saw Dyne was still a few feet away from the top, she passed him up at some point without realizing it. Taking the moment to catch her breath, she reached to her belt, pulling out a canteen, taking a healthy drink of the glorious water, that she could have been convinced was nectar.

The heavy sound of a desperate hand clenching onto loose sand proceeded Dyne as he almost collapsed near the top, breathing hard. "Why. . . would . . . they put in . . . shit like this. . .games are. . . supposed to be goddamn fun." Dyne gasped out, mimicking Sinon by drinking greedily from his canteen.

The girl ignored the older man's griping, as much as she wanted to join in. She pulled out a pair of ‹‹Binoculars››, and slowly pulled herself up to where only her eyes cleared the top of the dune. Across the large expanse of desert, about a mile from where they perched was the town they saw represented on the ‹‹Tracker››. She snatched off Dyne's hat, making the older man snap at her, but she ignored him as she used it to block the sun from the ‹‹Binoculars››'s lens as she surveyed the town.

Though, perhaps calling it a town was bit much in Sinon's view. The area was more like an amalgamation of weathered masonry, rotted wood, and worn stone. It was clear this village was from a time long past, before humanities flight from Earth. The area was supposedly Europe, and the town could maybe pass for an aged village from a stock photograph in that area.

The ‹‹Sea of Sand›› had long since begun it's reclamation of the area, piles of sand amassing among the outlying walls of the buildings that still stood in the path of the winds. Roughly three or more feet of the town was covered in rolling amounts of sand, thus making the buildings smaller than they originally were and the roads were no longer visible. She scanned each visible building's windows carefully, taking careful notice of shadows and the like, hoping to catch a glimpse of someone waiting for them. However, everything looked dead save for the occasional gust of wind that kicked up clouds of sand, just as it had for hundreds of years in lore.

"No sign?" Dyne asked, covering his eyes with his hand, as he scanned the desert around them, keeping an eye out for any trace of player activity in the area, but they seemed to be alone. He wasn't too surprised, they were quite a ways out from ‹‹SBC Glocken››. Most people stayed within range of seeing the city's skyscrapers, the desert was dangerous.

"None." Sinon sighed, "He must be waiting inside, somewhere we couldn't get a good shot on him. We could try to circle around to the other side, but from what I'm seeing here, the entire village is a ring of buildings leading into a central plaza, I couldn't set up a sniping position unless I was somewhere in the village," she pointed towards a tall church bell tower at the other side of the town. "Most of the town is tight corridors and winding roads, but I might be able to get a good sniping position on the plaza from that church."

Dyne nodded, scratching his chin. "Right. . ." He made a contemplating hum, narrowing his eyes. "Think you can sneak into the city first and get to the bell tower? The rest of us can go in the normal way, and we can lead ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› into the plaza."

Sinon looked worried, as she studied the older man. "I'm sure I could but, are you sure that's what you want? If you can't get him to follow you -"

"He'll follow, don't worry." Dyne interrupted. He gave her a grin, as he snatched his hat back and put it back on, "Besides, you suck at close range. Better to put you where you're useful and out of our hair." He laughed as she looked mildly annoyed, gesturing to her to follow him as he started sliding back down the hill towards the car.

XXXX

Slow and steady was the name of the game. Sinon pulled herself slowly alongside a minimal ditch of sand that ran in a snake line pattern towards the side of the town, that she knew existed from her recon of the village. It was only a foot or two high, but it gave her lithe frame enough cover to remain out of sight as long as she crawled on her belly. She'd been pulling herself along now for about thirty minutes, she still couldn't see the town's buildings telling her she was still a ways off. Her impatience with the crawl was growing by the minute, not to mention sand was invading every last inch of her clothing and making it miserable in her clothes, she was glad for the skin tight ‹‹Sneaking Suit›› or it'd be far worse. Not to mention the horrible heat that threatened to fuse her to the hot sand below.

Sinon covered her mouth, coughing as a gust of sand kicked into her mouth. She cursed, the sound of her cough seemingly louder than anything she'd heard while she snuck towards the village. She waited, scared she might hear someone coming to see what the noise was, but after a few seconds there was only silence. She let out a breath and continued.

The plan was going to be simple enough, once she was in position in the bell tower, the three would drive up to the village in plain view and head for the plaza, luring ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› into position there. She'd then take the shot once he was in view, as the bell tower should have a clear line of sight into the plaza. If she ran into trouble, she would shoot off a round and run for the end of town where her teammates would be coming from.

Jutting just over the corner of the small dune crest ahead, a red piece of tile showed – the village was near. Taking a deep breath, she risked a peek, jutting her head over the crest. A brief glance was all she took before dropping back down to sort through what she saw.

She recognized the spot, it was the same spot she scoped out earlier for a good entrance point, a single brick home, half destroyed with a red roof. On either side were still standing buildings, with the smallest of alleyways blocked off by rotted fencing. She didn't see anyone with her glance, but wanted to take another just in case. Moving forward another ten feet or so, she pulled her head up once more, only her eyes clearing the small sand hill. She scanned the area, there was no sign of life, so she risked rising to a squat and began to move.

Her eyes were glued onto the homes in front of her, feeling a strange ominous feeling well up in her chest. She'd had the feeling before, back when she was scavenging to survive in the desert. She never had any proof that her instincts were making the right calls or not, but she didn't like going against them. It was a strange thing, to have that sensation while inside a virtual world.

In the real world, instinct came from subconscious understanding of the area around you, cues that your environment gave to warn the primal aspect of your brain, the animalistic part that still remembers it's roots before civilization took hold of man. For the brain to be able to pick up on the same cues in a virtual world, meant that either the subconscious was far more perceptive than given credit for or the world was designed almost too well.

Reaching the broken building, she pressed her back up against it, taking a moment to scan the area again, feeling slightly better with her back covered. She crept along the wall, headed for the broken section. Reaching the end of where the faded brick wall crumbled away, she poked her head around, seeing a recreation of an early twenty first century living room. She felt a sense of longing as she surveyed it, it had been almost six months since she'd been in the game, seeing something from her own time period was both comforting and taunting.

She stepped through the destroyed living room, debris scattered across the floor. She kept her rifle up and ready as she progressed through the western styled home. She noticed the developers had even placed pictures of families, randomly generated she guessed, as to give the homes a more lived in feel. It certainly had the effect they were going for. When she arrived at the front door, it was already open, half-hanging off it's hinges with a two foot layer of sand creeping in.

She observed the outer village as best she could from her spot, knowing the church was to the left of the doorway, how far she wasn't sure. After being certain no one was looking at her through the open doorway's line of sight, she repeated the same level of caution edging out the door. Down what was once a concrete road, was now covered with sand, cars lining what was once the sidewalks and covered in sand. The top of the church's bell was in sight, just over the roof of the building across from her. With a deep breath, she rushed out into the street for the nearest cover.

XXXX

The church was quite rustic, classic in the way it was styled. In what already felt like an ancient town, the church was even older, built from wood and stone that somehow miraculously still stood intact. Well, if not for the fact it was programmed to still be standing. Having not been cared for in some time, sections of the roof had collapsed in, allowing shafts of light to shine onto old wooden pews. Sinon walked with a respectful pace, trying to avoid stepping on a few of the scattered Bibles that littered the floor after falling from broken pews. It wasn't that she was religious, as she had mixed feelings about the idea of a God due to the events in her life, rather that it was because this was a place meant to give people hope. She respected that.

She took in the mosaic windows that lined the walls on either side of her as she moved towards the altar, noting most of them were broken or shattered, either from the elements or human influence. Ahead of her, a simple altar stood, with a rather large cross behind it. She pulled her eyes from the cross, and saw what she was looking for – a door. It had to lead to the private areas of the church, and then a ladder that would lead into the bell tower.

It wasn't far from the door itself, bolted into the wall just a few feet down the hall that turned right ahead. She slung her rifle over her shoulder, before gripping onto the rusted ladder. Climbing up, she grimaced at the sound of it's bolted joints creaking. She knew the likelihood of it collapsing was low – as the areas she had been in previously rarely had any sort of environmental hazard beyond obvious weak floors that would cause a person to fall through and take a bit of fall damage. But, hearing the creak still drummed up images of the ladder snapping off, and possibly sending her to her doom below if the fall was high enough. No one was keen to throw themselves off tall spots to see exactly how much it would take to get killed, so the exact fall length wasn't known.

The ladder went up into a cramped shaft, a hatch at the very top. She could only pray there wasn't a lock, otherwise she'd have to do this all over again. Reaching the top, she pressed up with her hand, letting out a sigh of relief when the hatch gave way easily. The hot arid air greeted her as she rose from the ladder shaft, and as she hefted herself up so that she could sit on the lip of the shaft, she was a bit less impressed with the idea of using this as a sniper's nest now. It was the tallest spot in the village, but there wasn't much cover beyond the four slight corners. Looking towards the plaza, she had an open view of it, a road ran from the church straight to it, giving her almost perfect sight over the entire thing, which was what she wanted at least.

Closing the hatch, she moved away from it and laid prone, setting up her rifle by unhooking the bipod. It was a good spot, the sun was above and a bit behind her, thus almost the entire tower had shade from the roof, removing the threat of light reflecting from her lens. She reached up and turned her microphones mute function off. "I'm in position." She spoke in a low voice.

"_Copy. We'll head out now, keep your eyes peeled." _

"Roger." She reached up and muted her mic.

She took a deep breath, exhaling through her nose as she settled into her position. She frowned, the same feeling she had at the broken building returning. She felt nervous, more than she had in sometime. She couldn't put a description to what she felt, only the general label of 'wrong'. There was something about that NPC, Nero, that kept appearing in her head. The smirk she swore she saw as the video screen cut out, that seemed far too _human_. The NPC's in this game had very realistic reactions, to the point where it was easy to forget at times they were just soulless programs, but even still they had a certain fabrication to them that was noticeable to the human eye. But to be able to replicate such a display? And why? The Cardinal System was impressive enough if Ginrou was to be believed, but was that the case? What what if it wasn't, what sort of player could have the sort of technology to have holoscreens? She grumbled to herself, wishing she could just go back and look once more. It was driving her mad wondering if she was right or not in what she saw!

Her attention was drawn to the sight of a small trail of sand being kicked up to the south of her, she could tell from here it was Dyne's vehicle. They'd be within the city in moments. It was then she noticed the once clear blue western horizon was now mired with a large wall of sand. She didn't remember seeing something like that before they entered the village, and something that obvious doesn't sneak up on you. Chalking it up to a system problem she cursed it the same, what horrible timing – a sandstorm. It might not hit here before they finished things up with ‹‹The Black Swordsman››, but it wouldn't help anything on the way back. As she reached up to flick on her throat mic, to warn the others, she let out a yelp as a hand grabbed her shoulder.

"Don't move." A male voice whispered.

She froze up, how the hell did someone get behind her?! She'd closed the hatch behind her, so the only explanation was whoever got up the ladder and opened the latch without a sound had to have a high ‹‹Stealth›› skill. She felt her skin crawl as a hand touched the back of her neck and unhooked the throat mic.

"I need you to trust me."

XXXX

The car pulled up to a slow stop at the edge of the village, and Klein stepped out with his hand resting on his sword as he scanned the area. The terrain ahead was too uneven and full of debris for any hope of the car getting them further in. He glanced over to the church bell tower, but only it's very top was in sight, the nearby roof blocked it up to the very tip of the tower.

"Klein, you're on point." Dyne spoke, checking over his ‹‹FAMAS››. He looked down at Ginrou who stooped next to him, looking like he was on the brink of running from the town. He knew better though, it was hard to get him going, but Ginrou would never abandon them. The older man glanced at the redhead, expecting to have to tell him to pull out his shotgun, but saw Klein was already going for it. "Go slow, and remember we're not going to engage the target until we get him into the plaza, understood?"

Klein nodded, and chambered a round into his Mossberg. He moved along the sand slowly, trying not to be unnerved by the ghost town vibe the village gave off. Windows were broken in, doors long since demolished. Traces of life had long since been covered by the passage of time. It creeped him out to think that buried under the sand could be skeletons. Which was ridiculous as this was all fake, just programmed data. The history here was fabricated, all the events nothing but fiction. But it didn't feel that way, especially not when it was there in front of you, all of it looking just as real as it did in reality. Sure, there were differences, reminders that this was a virtual world working off a limited physics system. Water only flowed as well as the engine would allow it, making it a little less fluid than what would be deemed normal, sand was pushed away when you pressed on it, but not every grain was accounted for.

"Klein, focus." Dyne spoke, seeing the Samurai slow down, his attention seeming to be elsewhere.

Klein shook his head, frowning at himself for letting his mind wander. "Sorry." He doubled his efforts, trying to not let a single detail escape his search. The wind began to pick up, blowing dust up and making him squint. The sound of the gale passing through the empty houses produced a low pitched groaning sound, like the lament of the dead. Buildings creaked, and the sound of something being pried loose by the wind fell and banged against something metal.

The sound made Klein sweep his shotgun to the right, the noise making him jump. He kept it trained down the sand filled alleyway, feeling a bead of sweat trail down his cheek. A few seconds passed, and he heard nothing more. He let out a small sigh.

"_Klein! Above you!" _

Klein barely caught Ginrou's warning, and snapped his head up just in time to see a black shadow descending upon him. He threw himself forward with a yell, the sound of a massive object slamming into the sand where he stood playing a second after. Klien looked over from where his body skid onto the hard sand. His eyes widened. A single black cloaked figure remained in a kneeling position, a massive greatsword half-buried into the sand where it struck – right where he had been. He tried to peer at the hood, half-turned towards him, the black bangs that stuck out blocking the view of ‹‹The Black Swordsman››'s eyes. He let out a yelp as the back of his collar was tugged on hard by Dyne, who ran behind their attacker and dragged Klein to his feet.

"_Move!" _

Klein wasted no time in listening to the order, turning on his heel and kicking off as he heard the sound of the sword being lifted back up. Ginrou was right next to him, keeping pace as the smaller man glanced over his shoulder with a worried look. "Don't! It'll slow you down!" Klein roared. If he'd been even a moment slower he had no doubt that blow would have killed him, they needed Sinon's help.

The three ran as fast as their avatars would allow, their breathing heavy as they had to trudge through the sand and avoid any obstacles. They could hear the sound of their attacker pursuing them wordlessly, the only sound emanating from his being the sound of his armor clinking as each heavy foot step brought him closer and closer. _He's actually moving faster that we are! What the hell?! Is it his stats? _Klein thought, praying the village plaza would soon be in sight.

As if his prayers were answered, the road curved ahead, and the sight of a stone fountain came into view, the largest water basin at the bottom covered, making it look like a stone tree that emerged from the center. Klein grit his teeth, he could hear ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› just behind him, to the point where the sound of the black cloak whipping about was audible. He had to slow him down or he'd be on top of them before they reached the plaza! Pointing his gun backwards, he fired off a slug at an awkward angle, but it served the purpose he needed, it made ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› jump sideways. He grinned, catching the dodge from his half-turned head, but his eyes widened as their hunter barely lost two feet of space as he kicked forward again. He glanced forward, the plaza's opening was maybe thirty feet away. Klein cursed, if he tried stopping and firing, something told him that he'd just dodge his fire and kill him. With a shout of frustration, he threw his gun.

The giant sword moved, and his gun was cut in two, sailing behind him to land in the sand and break into digital shards of red. He saw the look on Dyne's face, but met his eyes for only a brief glance, they still had twenty more feet to go and they were almost in range of that sword. Klein had to do something or they were all going to be missing their heads soon.

The massive greatsword was still in action, still moving in it's arc. Klein stomped down hard and skidded as his hand shot to his sword. With a roar, he dashed at the recovering Black Swordsman and drew, "_Kirito!" _He screamed, and used the sword skill ‹‹Iaido››.

Only a few sword skills existed in this game, but they clearly designed a melee combat portion just as indepth as the gun system. Klein's sword emerged from his sheath glowing an intense red as he used the technique, the attack speeding him up with the system's help, and his avatar moved on it's own as he dashed past ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› and his sword met it's mark, a deep red gash appearing on his side. The skill continued, and Klein flicked his sword before sheathing the sword and the red gash exploded once, dealing damage again.

Klein turned. In real life, such a move would have killed his opponent out right. But his eyes widened as he saw the health bar on ‹‹The Black Swordsman››. It barely dropped ten percent. His breath caught in his throat as his opponent stopped on a dime, not even phased by the attack and swung that massive greatsword straight for his head. Klein drew his sword again without thinking, blocking the attack with a wild desperation that barely saved his life as the force of the blow and the weight of the sword knocked him back.

His arms felt like every bone in them had been imploded from the force they had to absorb, his back and shoulders spiking with sharp pain, and not from landing awkwardly and rolling to a stop. Klien's mouth hung open, unable to scream – that hurt far more than anything he'd ever experienced in GGO, even more than seemed allowed by the ‹‹Pain Suppresion››. He bent his head down, looking at his ‹‹Katana››, and his eyes widened as he saw that his once beautiful sword had bent, almost forty five degrees from where he'd blocked the blow. He didn't need to check the items status, it was definitely broken.

A shadow covered him, Klein looked up, his hearing muted to the sounds of Dyne and Ginrou screaming his name. Since his initial attack no more than five seconds had passed. ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› was on top of him, his sword already raised. Klein looked up, into the black hood that covered the swordsman's face. For once, he could see inside it and Klein gave an exasperated smile.

"_Klein!" _Dyne and Ginrou roared, as they raised their weapons, but it was too late.

He braced himself, he couldn't move in time. The sword fell.

_Bang! Bang! _

‹‹The Black Swordsman›› jumped away as two bullets soared past. Klein let out a gasp, that hadn't been a sniper rifle. He snapped his head over, and saw a single figure standing on top the nearby roof, someone he hadn't seen in almost six months.

"_Klein move__!" _Kirito roared as unloaded his ‹‹92FS Beretta››. ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› raised his ‹‹Greatsword››, using it as cover as the small caliber rounds pelted the thick steel. Klein grunted as he picked himself up, running towards Dyne and Ginrou. The two raised their weapons, ready to fire, when they heard Kirito shout again.

"_Get going __and don't use non-lethal __ammunition__, it'll have no effect__!" _He fired the last round in the magazine, making a large gesture with his hand towards the town center. He ejected the magazine, just as ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› charged forward headed straight for the building Kirito stood atop. He cursed as he slammed a fresh magazine into the gun and pulled back the slide.

Klein looked back for a moment, and saw ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› _leaping _onto the roof of the building just as Kirito dashed off the roof to land on the next. When ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› had been on top of him, he'd gotten a glance at the face under the hood, he'd known then it wasn't Kirito. But to think he was –

"_Klein! _Stop daydreaming and take this dammit!" Dyne roared.

Klein looked back, and saw the trade notification, a medkit to heal his wounds. He hit accept with an apology, before noting his HP was yellow. It sent a shiver up his spine, if the sword had absorbed even a little less damage before breaking, he might have not lived. He sent a small thank you to his destroyed weapon, before putting the medkit away to use it as soon as he could.

The stone fountain was only feet away now, and he could clearly see the church belltower. Klein turned, and was surprised as he saw Kirito in mid-fall from the roof closest to them, hitting the sand with a roll as he kicked off with a sprint and moved through the sand faster than any of them had been able to. Kirito ran up to them, dressed in brown combat fatigues, a black combat harness strapped around his body with an assortment of ammunition and other things attached to it. A short black straight sword appeared to be strapped onto his back, and a dark green bandana was wrapped around his forehead, the twin tails kicking about in the wind that was growing by the second. Klein opened his mouth, his eyes bright, but Kirito stopped him.

"Listen, there's no time. We have to give Sinon an opening for a shot, otherwise he'll just block the shot." Kirito spoke in as low as a tone as he could, knowing their opponent was soon to be on top of them.

Dyne stared at the unknown teen, his brow furrowed. He wasn't sure about him, but he saved Klein. "Alright, fine." He looked over Kirito's shoulder, ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› stood on the edge of the house Kirito had leaped from, staring at them. Dyne felt a very cold chill run along his spine, it felt as if a predator was watching his prey with an almost calculating gaze. "But just how exactly are we going to do that?"

"Surround him – without putting each other in danger, don't make it easy – and whatever you do," Kirito's face grew grim as he raised his weapon, putting ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› in the sights, "Don't let him get close." He squeezed the trigger.

Klein felt his stomach almost turn as ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› jumped from the roof, blocking Kirito's shots by holding his sword in front of him, turning it as needed. He hopped back behind Ginrou, "Cover me for a moment!" He shouted, making the smaller man nervously nod as he aimed his ‹‹P90››, joining in Kirito's attack. Klein opened his menu, cursing as he saw the ‹‹Empty›› sidearm slot where his sword once occupied, and equipped his starting handgun – he was glad Dyne made him hold onto it now.

Klein saw Dyne running to ‹‹The Black Swordsman››'s left flank, firing his ‹‹FAMAS››. Ginrou was headed to the other flank – keeping far out of Dyne's line of fire – all three were firing in short bursts, trying to keep the target in spot, and extend their magazines as long as possible. To ‹‹Black Dog››'s amazement, ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› was keeping pace, moving his ‹‹Greatsword›› in time between their bursts to effectively block almost every shot. They were small movements, nothing more than rotating the sword from left to right, the sword was wide enough to serve as effective cover from small-arms fire. The few bullets that went through, barely looked like they were damaging him, not to mention his battle regeneration was decent. His HP bar, that curved around his head, was green and was almost full, barely a triangle of damage showing that constantly moved up and down.

Klein's eyebrows knit as he raised his gun, trying to time his shots with the pendulum like motion of the ‹‹Greatsword››. Just how the hell tough was this bastard? Even with the smallest caliber round, he calculated that it'd take five shots to kill someone his level. This game was unforgiving with metal ammunition against player targets, he couldn't imagine that even if ‹‹The Black Swordsman››'s level was so grossly above them that his DEF beat out their own ATK enough to do so little! He cursed as he saw one of his bullets get past his defense, the HP bar didn't even move. What was worse, was he was _advancing. _He wasn't pinned, at this rate they'd run out of ammunition before he even got close to yellow!

_Crack! _

‹‹The Black Swordsman››'s body jerked, as a 7.62x51mm NATO round slipped past his defense, and hit him dead center in the chest, throwing him back a full foot, before he caught himself. His HP dropped a solid ten percent, and more chipped away as the others took the lull to fire. "Sinon!" Klein shouted, turning his head towards the church far away from the plaza, where he could barely make out her outline in the bell tower.

Klein's face broke out into a wild grin as he started firing as fast as he could, undeterred now by ‹‹The Black Swordsman››'s defense. He let out a howl of victory, his ass was as good as theirs!

"Don't drop your guard! It was just one shot, he can still –" ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› moved, _fast._ "_– look out!" _Kirito screamed, as he tacked Klein to the ground just as the massive ‹‹Greatsword›› swung over their heads glowing blue. Klein couldn't believe how fast ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› shot across the area to close the gap. It had to have been a skill! He barely registered Kirito pushing him away, the younger man's ‹‹STR›› surprising him as it felt like he was shoved aside by someone twice his side.

The ‹‹Greatsword›› arched, intent on hitting Kirito dead center, but the younger teen moved fast. He drew his ‹‹Tactical Sword››, and parried the blow, though it was more striking against the massive ‹‹Greatsword›› as hard as he could to change it's trajectory. The massive steel weapon slammed into the sand besides Kirito, and the younger teen jumped just as ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› turned and swung the sword from the ground in a low sweep.

Klein only watched as Kirito led ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› from him, dodging the incredibly fast swings, and parrying the ones he couldn't. Klein thought that perhaps Kirito could keep it up, that maybe he might be a match for the monstrous player, but it was clear on Kirito's face, he was on the defensive and barely holding it. He wasn't even able to return an attack or get anywhere close to ‹‹The Black Swordsman››. The other man was keeping him at range. Not to mention that every parry seemed to chip away at Kirito's HP, so there was no telling how long Kirito could keep it up.

Klein picked himself up off the ground as Dyne and Ginrou regrouped with him. He saw the look on both of their faces. They couldn't get a shot off on their target without risking hitting Kirito. "Dyne. . ." Klein spoke, trying to wrack his brain for what they should do. The older man gave Klein a look he didn't like, Dyne's coat starting to whip about hard as the fierce wind began to destroy anything loosely held around them.

"Klein, we need to get Sinon and retreat." Dyne spoke, his rough voice low and his black eyes piercing into Klein's, barely audible over th din of the wind.

"What?!" Klein roared, the idea of leaving Kirito to _that_ was – !

"He's right." Ginrou spoke, his voice uncharacteristically clear, free of it's usual shake or uncertainty. "If we fight him, we'll die."

Klein stared at them both, shocked at the look in their eyes. Fear was present, but it wasn't panicked. Both of them fully understood what they were suggesting, backed with the knowledge they were facing a far superior foe they couldn't overcome. Klein grit his teeth. He knew – he knew they were right, but – !

Then, the wind doubled in it's previous ferocity. Klein yelped as he was pushed back by the force of the gale. He covered his eyes as sand was being thrown in a violent rage. He looked behind him, where the wind had originated, and his jaw dropped. A massive wall of sand was looming above them, edging forth to engulf the entire area. "A freaking sandstorm?!" Visibility had already dropped to almost nothing as the wind picked up massive amounts of sand, blowing it around and drenching the area in a brown blanket. Klein coughed as he brought his hand to cover his mouth, the invasive sand feeling as if it would choke the life from him.

He looked over with squinted eyes at Kirito and ‹‹The Black Swordsman››, both still not slowing in the least even with the massive storm that was coming onto them. Then, he began to feel a deep rumble under his feet.

"Uwaa!" Ginrou cried out, "An earthquake!? Is that even something that can happen?!"

The shaking of the earth stopped both of the combatants, each having to struggle to maintain their footing as the sand below them shifted and moved in increasing waves of instability. Kirito cursed as he stumbled back, he looked behind him, looking towards the church.

"_Oi! Kirito!_" Klein yelled out, this was going to be their only chance to make a break for it, they needed to group up, to – with a sudden and massive shift, the ground felt as if it _bounced _just before the stone fountain that separated ‹‹Black Dog›› from the other two exploded into a massive pillar of sand, stone and rock that knocked everyone away. The sound of earth being crushed split the air, and an unholy screech cut through the desert.

Klein let out a grunt as he hit the ground hard, rolling over himself multiple times, his gun lost from his grip. He came to a stop as he slammed up against a building, letting out a sharp yell. His head swam, but he shook it off, as he struggled to push himself to his feet. Klein's eyes burned from the sand that was assaulting them, as he tried to see what the hell blew him back and was making that god awful noise. When he finally got his bearings his eyes shot open, despite the harsh wind.

In the center of the plaza, where the fountain once stood, he could easily make out a massive, wriggling, ribbed, sickly yellow titanic worm that swayed from the peak of it's ascent from the earth. It was easily fifty feet in diameter, the top of it reaching well over six stories tall, and jagged, razor sharp teeth could be seen rotating at the top of it's 'head'. The beast let out another ear piercing roar that shook the entire area, loud enough to be clearly heard over the roar of the storm. Health bars began to expand, six in total, with the large red lettering above them reading ‹‹Tyrant of the Dunes›› LVL 110.

Then, more tremors could be felt from under them, and Klein cursed as he jumped back in time as a hole burst out from under him, this time a much smaller version of the ‹‹Tyrant of the Dunes››, roughly the size of a human, bursting from the ground.

"A world event?!" Klein complained, not believing the rotten luck they had. He heard a burst of gunfire from Dyne's ‹‹FAMAS››, as another worm burst out to attack. Klein had to jump back again to avoid the worm's lunge, he was unarmed.

"Klein, we – !" Dyne interrupted himself with a curse as his magazine ran dry, making him resort to slamming the butt of his gun against another sand worm that tried to jump him, leaving it stunned. "We have to get back to the car and pick up Sinon! _Let's go!" _He pulled out a new magazine, tossing the other one aside carelessly, as he ran as fast as he could against the biting wind.

Klein stared at Ginrou, the other man already turning to follow Dyne. Klein tried to look back at Kirito, but the massive ‹‹Tyrant of the Dunes›› blocked any view he might have had. Klein cursed as he ran after Dyne, he had no choice! "_Kirito!" _Klein roared, his voice barely audible over the now massive sandstorm. "_Don't die!" _

XXXX

Kirito's jaw dropped as he watched the massive world boss shift left and right, like a building being pushed by the wind. This thing was beyond ridiculous, it was absurd to think such an event existed here! The sound of the sand below him shifting alerted him to the attack, he jumped back just as a smaller sand worm burst out, it's small head, that was a wide open mouth with row after row of rotating and gnashing teeth, aiming for his head. He roared as he lashed out with his sword, cutting the beast apart as it fell to the side.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, and he threw himself right, just as the massive steel greatsword cut through the swirling sand to try and decapitate him. Kirito cursed as he rolled out of his dive and brought himself up to his feet, his ‹‹Beretta 92 FS››held up as he fired off two rounds. The sound of them hitting steel rang out, as he couldn't see more than two feet in front of him clearly, but he could just make out the black silhouette of his foe. Another massive tremor shook the earth under his feet, and Kirito had to balance himself.

"Kirito!" a rough, powerful, male voice yelled out, cutting through the roaring wind. "We finish this another day! I'll have your head yet!" A monstrous scream followed from the ‹‹Terror of the Dune›› as it's body made a large rotation, causing another shock wave. It looked like it would start attacking at any moment, there was no way he could take it on, he was only level forty one.

"Sigurd!" Kirito roared, trying to see ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› Sigurd, through the sand. "Get back here! This isn't over yet!" He heard a boisterous laughter that was lost to the sounds of the storm. He let out a small shout as he had to dodge another worm and sliced it in half as it screamed it's last.

He looked back towards where Sigurd disappeared, it was too late, his opponent was already lost in the swirling vortex of sand. Another shock wave moved through the ground, and this time it was strong enough the building behind him collapsed with a cacophony loud enough to cut through the din of the storm. A female scream could be heard through the storm. He had to move. Kicking off the sand, he knew exactly where he was headed.

XXXX

Sinon could care less about the sand that blew into her mouth, her jaw slack as she stared at the wriggling ‹‹Tyrant of the Dunes›› that was visible even through the thick sandstorm. She had never seen an animal that big before, if this wasn't a life or death situation she might be impressed, but only terror that threatened to break her focus filled her.

A shockwave hit the church, _hard. _Sinon gasped as the old wooden church shifted and shook, sounds of wood splintering and breaking away rising from under the roar of the wind. She felt the tower shift and shake and she realized how precarious her situation was. She slung her rifle over her shoulder, she had to get off the tower and _now. _Moving over to the hatch, she threw it open, but another shockwave hit the church and she screamed as the tower made a large _snap _and shifted hard_. _She fell backwards, rolling over her own back and was thrown from the top. She gasped, her hands grasping for the edge. Her right hand grabbed onto the corner, holding it's grip with all her strength as her body slammed into the side of the tower. She let out a pained yell, but kept fer focus and brought her other hand up to steady her hang.

She glanced down, and saw the tower had almost snapped in half, the whole thing was starting to lean backwards, it wouldn't hold. She only had one choice, she had to fall to the roof below before the tower fell and get off the church roof. She grit her teeth, and let go. She kept herself as upright as possible, bending her knees slightly as she felt the rush of falling hit her stomach. Her feet hit the tilted roof fifteen feet below, sending a sharp spike of pain through her as she did her best to fall into a roll, protecting her head with her arms as she bounced and rolled down the slanted roof. She tried to stop herself on the roof, but was unable to as she fell off the church roof and tumbled to the sand below.

She hit the sand with a grunt, her body rolling once to land prone, hearing the familiar beeping of her HP being damaged, and a glance told her she didn't lose much, she still had over eighty percent. A rumbling sound and vibration warned her to an oncoming attack, and she gasped as by her feet a small explosion of sand revealed a ‹‹Sand Worm›› arching straight for her head, it's gaping maw seeking to devour her. She rolled, pushing off the ground as hard as she could so she would roll and use the momentum to rise to one knee, as the human sized worm slammed face first into where she had been. It's disgusting body writhed, angry it's prey escaped, and twisted to resume it's hunt.

Sinon's hand shot to her ‹‹Glock››, just as the worm moved with alarming speed, again aiming for her head. She screamed as she raised her left arm, grabbing onto the toothed edge of it's mouth, the weight of the monster knocking her off her feet. She choked back a scream as she felt it's spinning mouth tear away at her hand and arm, dealing damage. She jammed the ‹‹Glock›› under it's belly, glaring at the beast and wishing it would just vanish as she started unloading round after round into it's soft body.

A high pitched wailing erupted from the beasts maw, as it's HP blasted to zero in three rounds. She let out a disgusted grunt as she threw it off her, looking down at her left hand and forearm. They were covered in red slash marks. Thankfully, it looked worse than it was, her HP was only slightly damaged. She coughed, the whipping sands not relenting in the slightest.

"_Sinon!" _

Kirito, she recognized through the howl of the wind. She looked over towards where the shout came from, raising a hand to block her eyes. There was just no way to see clearly in this damn storm! The sound of footsteps running up to her alerted her to him,

"Sinon, are you okay?!" Kirito yelled over the storm, subconsciously shielding her from the worst of the wind with his back as he stood close to her. "How did you get down?!"

"I fell!" She yelled back, glad for the small bit of cover the taller boy gave her. "Did you see where the others went?!"

"I think back to their car!"

"We have to meet up with them!" She replied, already starting to head past him. She was stopped as he grabbed onto her shoulder.

"Not that way! That boss is back there, we have to go around!" Another hard vibration shook the village, as the sounds of the titanic beast crashing into something burst through the air louder than anything the other had heard. She cursed as the wind shifted direction and hit her eyes again. She kept getting the sensation of sand getting into her eyes, even though the game's engine couldn't support such a thing, it still simulated the feeling.

"Here, take this quick!" Kirito spoke, noting her plight, and a trade window popped in her view. She glanced over at Kirito, who was quickly navigating his own menu to equip something. She squinted at the items, seeing ‹‹Desert Goggles›› and ‹‹Twin Tailed Scarf›› – she hit accept, and moved to equip them, offering a shouted 'Thank you' as she did so. A long white scarf with a simple line design on it materialized around her neck, and a pair of goggles gave her eyes immediate relief from the wind, the sensation disappearing. She pulled up the white scarf to cover her mouth, glad it had the same effect to stop the effects of the sandstorm, as she looked over to Kirito, who had a matching pair of goggles on and a red afghan that covered his nose down. He pointed with a nod of his head, and she returned the nod as he began to run towards the open desert, and turned towards the southern part of the town where ‹‹Black Dog››'s car would be.

Again, the desert was shook by the behemoth worm, making Kirito glance over where the silhouette of the ‹‹Tyrant of the Dunes›› could just be made out slamming into the ground towards them, and began to move, which shook the ground. His eyes widened, as he saw it blasting aside houses, it's massive maw engulfing sand and buildings alike as it headed for them. Had he aggro'd it somehow before he came to Sinon?!

They weren't even close to the side where they would be, there was no way they could make it in time. He glanced down at Sinon, who held her rifle with a tight grip as her eyes were locked on the boss monster that threatened to devour them whole in less than a minute. His own ride was too far away, they only had one chance. He grasped her arm and turned left, aiming for the open desert, making Sinon cry out in surprise, muffled by her scarf.

"Where the hell are we going!?"

"We're not going to be able to out run that thing, our only bet is to get far enough away to make it reset – if it even can be! We won't make it to the them in time!" Kirito felt his feet start to bounce off the sand as he ran, not due to his speed, rather that the entire terrain was _moving _from the force of the creature behind them. He grit his teeth, pumping his arms and legs as hard as he could, even though that wouldn't change how fast he ran, as it was set to a certain speed.

Sinon didn't dare spare a glance behind her, doing her best to keep pace with Kirito as they sprinted across the open desert. The horrid breath of the beast was starting to press against them, it's massive body able to produce a gust of air strong enough to be mistaken for a strong wind.

She let out a howl of frustration as she begged her avatar to move faster, edging to keep pace with Kirito. Why wouldn't this thing just reset already?! Then, her eyes widened as her foot hit rock, and her next step was met with empty air, giving her stomach a lurching feeling for the second time that day as she heard Kirito yell and fall with her. She fell, again trying her best to protect her head as the ground was indistinguishable from the swirling sand, but she hit the ground after what felt like less than a second.

The vibrations turned into a full on earthquake, and Sinon tried her best to stand back up, but the violent motion of the ground knocked her off balance, and soon the strong wind of the creatures breathing turned into a full on gale, and she could see the top of it's gaping maw sticking out over the top of the rocky out cropping they fell off of. Her eyes widened, this couldn't be how it ended!

"Sinon!" She heard Kirito shout, and felt her body get tugged down, towards the rocky wall that made up the small cliff they fell off of. She let out a small scream as the sound of the boss monster moving was loud enough to shatter her ear drums if they were real. She felt Kirito's arms cross around the back of her head and tuck it into his chest, and rolled them both up against the rock wall, his body protecting hers.

The earthquake was enough to make them both lightly bounce across the ground, the sound of the behemoth moving drowning out both of their yelling. All light dimmed as a dark shadow passed over them. Sinon's vision was encompassed by Kirito's chest, and all she could do was tightly grip onto his combat fatigue as she realized it must be passing over them. Had this been reality, it's weight would have crushed the tiny rock out cropping like a human foot pressing down on a raised mound of dirt, but this game's limited physics engine worked in their favor this time.

When the earthquake again lessened into a vibration, she fought against Kirito's grip and looked over him, the beasts tail was about fifty feet from them, and she cursed as she saw it starting to turn. "Now's our chance, we have to run back towards where they'll be coming from!" Sinon shouted.

"What if they aren't coming!?" Kirito yelled back.

"_They will!_"

She jumped to her feet, starting to run towards the south again, having to first clear a small hill that sloped up from the ditch they were in. She heard Kirito yelling after her, soon appearing next to her as they cleared the hill. She didn't bother turning to see if the ‹‹Tyrant of the Dunes›› was in fact heading towards them, there was no way it wasn't.

Kirito glanced over his shoulder, the thing was almost fully turned around, having to make a wide arc with it's large body. At least now he could only make out it's silhouette, they might just make it! He started to feel a bit winded, his brain not able to understand he didn't actually need air in a virtual world.

Another echoing roar told them the faceless monstrosity was headed for them again, and both started to wonder if they were even running in the right direction – they couldn't even see the outline of the village anymore in all the sand. Sinon squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, as she cursed anything she could think of for her rotten luck. There was no way she was going to let it all end by getting _eaten _by a overgrown goddamn worm! She half-turned at the hip, and saw the beast's silhouette was now clearer, and she fired a shot from her rifle at it in a rage, knowing it was almost impossible to miss.

"Sinon, that's a waste of time! Don't stop running!"

"_I know!_" Her voice was thick with her anger at their situation, and Kirito couldn't help but curse understanding how she felt.

They got lucky the first time, this time there was no telling if they could be saved. He grit his teeth, knowing there was only one thing left to try. "Sinon, it might just be after me!" He shouted, getting her attention. "I'm going to see if it'll follow me!" He again shouted at her. If she could get away, his death wouldn't be pointless – there was no need for others to get dragged down because of him. He turned a bit more towards the open desert, moving away from Sinon.

He heard her yell out something, but tried to ignore it. But, he felt something hit him on his back, and he looked back in shock at the angry girl. "I'm not letting you run off and die on your own! I wouldn't be able to sleep at night!"

"Are you stupid?! You'll die too!"

She glared up at him, her eyes full of fire. "I'm not going to let anyone die! I refuse to let this stupid game just do as it pleases!"

He grit his teeth, why the hell was she being so stubborn?! "You idiot! I'm going to be the reason you die now, _don't you understand!?" _His voice reflected his real anger at her, bubbling up from deep inside him. "I don't need another death on my conscious!" He glanced back over, it was too late – it was way too close now, he could see inside it's fleshy mouth and felt a cold chill run through his sweat drenched body. Even if he threw her aside, forcing her away he couldn't – !

The roar of an engine cut his thoughts off. "_OI! KIRITO! SINON! GRAB ON!" _

Kirito glanced over with a gasp, a black convertible was zooming towards them, and Sinon was already running to meet it, seeing Ginrou and Klein holding their hands out, Ginrou from the back passenger seat and Klein leaning out closer to the back. Sinon jumped, grabbing onto Ginrou's hand. As soon as she was clear, Kirito felt his collar get grabbed by Klein and his body picked up off the ground as the car sped forward. He was yanked into the car, bumping into Sinon as the four of them resembled a human dog pile in the back seat.

"How did you find us?!" Sinon yelled as she squirmed out from under Ginrou. He started making strange sounds as the girl growled and pushed him off of her.

"We – _Oi, Kirito, watch where you're touching! – _We heard your rifle go off!" Klein shouted.

"_Hold on!" _Dyne screamed through the din of the sandstorm and the roaring of the beast. He turned the wheel hard, as he moved out from the monsters path, but it turned with them, it seemed as if could stay at the same speed as the car, which was slowed by the sand and wind considerably. Dyne started letting out a string of curses, shifting up and slamming his foot on the pedal as he drove near blind through the sandstorm praying he wouldn't hit anything.

Kirito pushed Klein off of him, looking back to see the ‹‹Tyrant of the Dune››'s mouth chasing them like a massive cavern. If only they could slow it down, they might be able to outrun it. He turned towards Dyne, as he was pushed aside a bit by Sinon who was trying to get some breathing room in the cramped back. "Do we have any explosives?!"

"_No! Why the fuck would I?!" _Dyne bit back, turning the wheel sharply to avoid a boulder that jumped out in his field of vision, throwing everyone in the back to the side. The boulder was demolished by the monster, and it roared in anger from the pain and the fact it's meal kept avoiding it.

Klein stuck his head closer to Dyne. "Now who's an idiot for not buying that rocket launcher?!" He screamed at the old man.

Dyne's face turned a new shade of red. "_Klein I swear to god I'll fucking throw you to the goddamn thing if you don't shut the hell up! You already tore the fucking roof off my car you son of a –" _Dyne's insults continued in a most vulgar manner, but Klein was already ignoring him, pestering Ginrou for anything useful as the beast roared again.

Kirito didn't have anything on him larger than a hand grenade, the Tyrant wouldn't even notice it. Bullets wouldn't hurt it, at least not theirs, they were all too low level.

He tightened his fists into balls. There was only one thing he could do, they should never have taken him on. He took a deep breath, and put his hand onto the door –

"_SHIT!" _

Kirito barely had time to look over at Dyne as he screamed. A cliff came into view, and the car was soon airborne and dropping nose first, throwing the back end forward. Kirito screamed with the others as they were flung from the car, and his eyes widened as he saw that a massive whirlpool of sand was far underneath them, swirling furiously. He hit the almost liquid sand, a jolt of pain shooting through him as his HP took a huge hit. He cried out, and his body began to sink rapidly into the whirlpool who's current he was stuck in, trying to right himself feet first.

He looked around for anyone, panic rising through him as he continued to be tossed and thrown by the current as he neared the center. All he saw was the outline of the car that was stuck vertically in the sand closer to the center, he couldn't see anyone, were they all – ?!

_There! _

A single flash of blue close to him. "_Sinon!" _He yelled, as he fought to push himself towards her unmoving avatar. "Hang on, I'm not going to let you die!" He yelled out her name again in frustration, the sand far thicker than water. He managed to creep closer an inch at a time, he had to get her before they were pulled all the way in! His hand inched towards her, and he grabbed a small bit of cloth from her fatigue. He dragged her close, holding onto her tight with one arm, noting the K.O. debuff under her HP bar.

He grunted as he fought as hard as he could with one arm to pull them closer, but they both still sank further and further until his right arm could no longer move as the sand was above his armpit. He pulled her close, holding her as firm as possible as they neared the center, and their heads were engulfed by the sand as he clenched his eyes shut.

XXXX

And that's all for this chapter folks.

There's some unexplained stuff that I couldn't get to in the latter half of the chapter, didn't want to bog down the action with anything I could just wait to bring up in the next chapter, while still making sense for said information to come up.

So ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› wasn't Kirito! As much as I'd like to think I'm insanely clever, I'm certain most of you figured that part out by now. I'd like to hear your thoughts about it, however.

In fact, please leave any and all thoughts/criticisms in that nice little box below. But if not, I hope you enjoyed, and rest assured the next chapter should be out in a timely manner like how I used to before the goddamn holidays.

So, until next time everyone!

Shinobi no Ryu


	5. Cat and Mouse

_The fragrance of seaweed and miso filled Kirito's nostrils as he sat at the small dining table in his Aunt's cozy home. He loved his Aunt's miso soup. It was the dish she would make whenever he felt down – it was his comfort food. Simple, but to him it was the greatest dish that could never be made by anyone other than his Aunt. It's warm and savory broth always went down so smooth, it's salty taste wonderful on his tongue. He dipped his spoon eagerly, taking another large spoonful. As he once more treated his tongue to the delightful taste, unable to stop the pleasured sigh that escaped his closed lips, he looked across to his Aunt and his younger cousin whom was his sister by adoption. He was eager to thank his Aunt for the meal, and ask his sister how her day was, until he saw both their faces were blank. _

_Completely blank, just pale sickly flesh stretched across a skull, no features to be seen. Shadows played across where the taut skin sunk into the eye holes, the nose cavity, even the outline of the teeth and every dip of the skull. The once quaint home now took on a derelict look, the paint horribly browned and chipped, water damage visible in areas where the roof met the ceiling. Family pictures were cracked and burned, all of them sharing the constant that he was missing from them, his face burned or cut away. The furniture was now torn and rotted, and the smell of mildew and rotting flesh filled the area._

_The once warming soup turned ice cold, it's taste and texture comparable to pond scum. His hand froze, his eyes locked onto the two monsters before him that wore his families clothing, even their hair. Though they had no eyes, he could feel both of them glaring into him, a very strong sense of malice channeling into him. _

_The creature that took the place of his sister began to shake, it's head twitching and convulsing as if it was being shocked. A sound began to come from it, gravel being ground between teeth coming out like static from a radio. He began to sweat, as the inhuman sound was something he could actually comprehend, even if it was said in no human language. _

_MuR-der-Er. _

_A cold child ran down his spine. He wasn't a murderer – what hell was it talking about?! _

_A vision. Blood. It covered him, his hands, his sword, his clothing. Blood from two men. His eyes widened as he refused the vision. The thing that mimicked his Aunt shook in the same way the other was, the same attempt at speech escaping lips that could not be seen. _

_MuR-der-Er. _

_No! You're wrong! He denied it with every last ounce of his being, as he shot up from his seat, his heart pounding in his chest as his eyes unfocused making his vision blur for a moment and his breathing quickened. Something was being dragged out from the back of his mind, a feeling of sheer terror and disgust that had been hidden. His foot scraped backwards as he tried to retreat._

_To say the two things stood would be wrong. What they did forewent the physical law of cause and effect, jumping straight to effect. They both were now standing at his sides, Their skinfaces now inches from his own making his heart stop as their violent language turned into a chanting of words that exploded into his ears in a deafening volume. _

_**MuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderErMuRderEr**_

_Kirito screamed in terror, lashing out at the two things, his arms meeting nothing as he fled towards the front door in a sheer panic. "I'm not! I didn't do anything!" he shouted as he almost began to cry, starting to remember things, terrible things. "It wasn't me!" The door was only inches from his finger tips._

_A sudden weight on his ankles caused him to trip, slamming him face first into the strong hardwood door with a shout of pain as he felt his nose almost break, and he slid down to hit the tile below hard. He thought it was the two things that stopped him, but a single man dressed in a torn dirty poncho was the one clenching onto his ankle like a lifeline, his head down. _

_A low mutter, pathetic and laced with tears, escaped the man. Kirito shook his head, feeling blood flick off from his nose, he couldn't understand the person who wouldn't let go. He started to struggle, trying to drag his foot away, but the man would not let go."Let me go!" He lashed out with his foot, kicking at the gray skinned head that had clumps of hair sticking out like a dead field. The kick did nothing, and Kirito glanced up, seeing the two monsters had disappeared. _

_The man kept muttering, his sobbing starting to be louder than Kirito. His words finally emerged from the sobbing, as the man snapped his head up, revealing it's face. Kirito's eyes shrunk as he recognized the person. The bandit's eyes were black as pitch, red streams of blood trickling down as his voice echoed from the dark abyss that was the inside of his circular mouth. _

"_It hurts!" The person let go of Kirito and rose onto his knees, his bony grotesque hands shooting to his chest where a bloody hole replaced where his heart should be. "I didn't want to die! Mommy! It hurts so bad, why did I have to die!?" The demon looked at the teenager who was stumbling to get to his feet, obsidian eyes locked onto the specter. "Why did you kill me!?" _

"_N-No, you have it wrong! I didn't know!" Kirito stammered out, rising to his feet as one hand searched behind him for the door knob. The door felt as smooth as a wall and not a raised part that could be identified as a doorknob could be found. His eyes began to prick with tears as the hole began to bleed profusely, making the bandit cry again. "I-I didn't. . ." _

_The demon's black eyes burned with an unholy fire, it's arms raising. "Give it back! Give me back my life!" _

_It charged him, making Kirito scream as he covered his face with crossed arms as he expected the thing to start tearing into him, but at the same time it would have tackled him, his entire sense of being shifted, and the roaring sounds of the Slums greeted him. His arms dropped in confusion, looking around with a sweat drenched face. Wasn't he just in his Aunt's home? Why the hell was he under ‹‹SBC Glocken››?_

_He began backing up, staring around at the NPCs for the demon whom wanted him dead. His back bumped into something firm and hard, and he spun around, his mouth opening to scream as he saw the familiar poncho, but this time it was blood free, giving him a small measure of relief. "E-Excuse me." Kirito quickly mumbled, as he started to turn and walk away, until a hand shot out and gripped his shoulder so tight he swore it would crush the flesh underneath. _

"_Where are you going?" It asked. The voice was calm, but held an undertone of deep regret and sadness._

_Kirito looked back, his face still pale and sweating. He began to stammer out that he was sorry again, until he saw the face of whom grabbed onto him. It was the other one. His eyes were just as dark and unforgiving. "Get away!" Kirito screamed as tried to run off with all his force, trying to escape the iron grip of the man who wasn't even swaying from his attempts. He pulled away with all his might, digging the front of his feet into the ground, and then began to hear a sick tearing sound, like wet paper. _

_Glancing back, his eyes widened as he saw the flesh of the man's arm rot purple and tear away in a single line around his elbow. The man stared at the wound like it wasn't happening to him. Kirito shot forward, stumbled away, the hand still gripping onto his shoulder tight as the severed limb hung onto him, pouring blood. The teen tried to tear free the hand, pulling at the diseased appendage, but it wouldn't let him free. _

"_Ah. . ." the Bandit spoke with an unattached tone. "That's right. . ." his eyes locked onto Kirito's freezing the teen into place. A red line drew around the Bandit's neck as blood began to bubble out from the wound and trails of blood flowed from his mouth. "You killed me." The flesh on the neck began to shift, as stubborn tendrils of flesh stretched to keep the head attached to the neck, but it was no use as it flopped forward, hitting the ground with a sickening thud and rolling to Kirito's feet as the body fell backwards spurting blood. _

_The head of the Bandit stared up at Kirito, it's mouth moving in a rhythmic pattern trying to speak the words. _

_Murderer. _

_Kirito's felt a sharp pain jab him in the chest, right in his heart, as he clenched at his fatigues. His breathing grew labored and heavy as he started stumbling. It was getting hard to breath, so hard. _

_He knew. He'd killed them, but it was an accident, he didn't want to! IT was just a game then! He fell to his knees as the head continued it's accusations. _

_It felt like something was filling his mouth, what, why – ?!_

XXXX

Kirito screamed, sputtering, as he pushed away with his arms and legs in a blind terror. He started coughing, cutting his screams as he felt the sensation of something was in his mouth, it tasted like sand. His vision was dark, he couldn't see a damn thing, his heart felt like it was going to explode in his chest. His hands shot to his face in a panic, and realized there was nothing over his head so why couldn't he see – ?!

The memories of what had transpired came to him.

He let out a shaky exhale, tinged with exhaustion. _Calm down, __breathe, just like before__. _He told himself, he had to think. Just like Miller taught him, take deep a deep breath . . . hold it . . . then exhale slowly. He repeated it until he felt the animalistic urge to run and hide leave him.

That's right, he remembered now.

They had all fallen into that sand trap, and been swallowed whole by the ground. He attempted leaning back to relax and found there was a rock wall behind him. Letting out another deep exhale, he started trying his best to organize his thoughts.

That goddamn nightmare again. He cursed and shook his head, still feeling the shadow of the gripping terror that was going to give him a heart attack one of these times, if that was even possible in the game. He hadn't had a good night's rest in forever because of it.

His eyes clenched shut, he didn't need to be wallowing in that place right now, he needed to get safe first, he need to find the others – "Sinon." He remembered again, he'd tried to pull them both out before they'd been sucked in. She had to have fallen in with him, maybe she was close?

He fumbled with his belt, trying to find the right pouch – there it was. He pulled out a clip on flashlight, flicking it on and wincing as the darkness was cut apart by the circle of light. The first thing that was illuminated was the red rocky wall and floor – it looked like he was in a tunnel of some sort – along with what looked like a small trickling of sand that hit the bottom and didn't accumulate, it was just a looping effect. He imagined that's why he felt like something had been flooding his mouth.

He turned the flashlight, and let out a sigh of relief as he saw her prone body lying in an awkward position, free of the _DEAD _indicator, just a little bit away from where he'd first come to. Clipping the flashlight onto his chest, he crawled over to Sinon, inspecting her.

Her HP was in the yellow, and the K.O. debuff was still present. He gently rolled her over onto her back, cradling her head as he did so. There was nothing he could do about her status effect, but seeing as how he'd been knocked out too, she shouldn't be out for too much longer. He stared at her for a moment, seeing the few bright red marks that were present on her body, presumably from their fall into wherever the hell they were.

Looking around, he saw they were alone, the rest of ‹‹Black Dog›› was nowhere to be seen. He frowned as he glanced back up at where the sand was pouring in, with a rather annoying looping sound that he'd wished cut out. It wasn't very loud, but still. However, judging from the size of the hole, it was big enough for them to have fallen in through yet obviously not big enough for the whirlpool outside. Was there smaller 'chutes' that connected to whatever the main flow was? It was the only logical idea he could come up with at the moment.

Regardless, that meant they were alone and the others were somewhere else. He doubted they'd just leave them alone in an unsafe area, which meant they might be at the mercy of whatever might lurk down here. With that thought, he looked back at Sinon's HP. She needed to be healed, it wasn't safe to be that low on health. He couldn't help but stifle a blush at the thought of having to wrap a girl with bandages. The fact he was holding her in such an intimate way was already a bit too much for his sixteen year old mind. She looked to be about the same age as him too, only going off her avatar, which he'd already guessed from the last time they'd found themselves in this situation.

Letting out a long exhale from pursed lips, he opened his menu and pulled out his ‹‹Black Cloak››. Folding it up, he turned it into a makeshift pillow for her head, before he grabbed a ‹‹Medkit››. A plastic case with a bright red cross painted on it appeared in his hands, which he opened to reveal a simple set of medical supplies.

GGO's healing system was interesting. Unlike most MMO's that used very simple and quick methods to heal, like potions or food, in GGO a player had to heal injuries almost like they were real. Nothing as complicated as surgery or even stitches, but rather used bandages from a ‹‹Medkit›› to place or wrap around any red damage marks. It would then heal the damage the wound gave over five minutes – though this process could be quickened with use of an antibiotic or someone with a high ‹‹Medical›› skill could speed it up, which made players who decided to focus on being Medics very popular. His own ‹‹Medical›› skill was novice at best, but he could reduce healing time down to four minutes with the added use of antibiotics.

Unfurling a bandage, as he didn't want to rub her wound down with antibiotics for privacy reasons, Kirito stared at the red gash that ran just about under her right breast to her side. He very carefully placed the end he held against her side, the system assisting by holding it in place, and he rolled it over her midsection and lifted her up gently to move it under. He couldn't help but sweat as he paid extra attention to not let his hands bump into anything they shouldn't. Bringing the bandage to a full circle, he sighed as it formed a solid ring around her, covering the damage. He glanced up, and saw the healing buff which was slowly healing her. He repeated the process on the smaller injuries, thankfully all of which were on her arms or lower legs. One small cut was on her cheek, but he fixed it with just a square band-aid.

Letting out a small content breath, he checked his time, it was just past four in the afternoon. He wasn't sure what time they'd been chased into wherever they were, but he couldn't have been out for more than an hour. He quickly attended to his own wounds, which were minimal, before putting the remaining supplies back into the ‹‹Medkit›› and returning it to his inventory. Looking back down at her, he figured she might not like waking up with him kneeling next to her. Crawling over to the rock wall close to her, he leaned up against it.

He tried to get comfortable, as he watched preprogrammed dust particles dance in the light that illuminated Sinon. Reaching up he flicked off the light, plunging the tunnel into darkness again – the battery on the light took a long time to run out, but better not to test it. He tried to get comfortable again, against the rock wall, but it was impossible due to it's jagged exterior. Finding the least annoying spot, he found himself glancing down towards where he knew Sinon was lying.

She surprised him, to say the least. He had already had her pegged as a strong player, able to take care of herself. But she'd been even quicker than him on decision making when they were fleeing from the ‹‹Tyrant of the Dunes››. She hadn't even thought twice after they fell, nor did she seek his help with anything.

Hell, he thought with a laugh, when he'd snuck up on her inside the bell tower he could tell she was just waiting for the right opportunity to spin around and shoot him.

_XXXX_

_Kirito slowly pushed open the hatch, his ‹‹Stealth›› able to make it soundless. He controlled his breathing as he got to the top, hearing Sinon finish her conversation with whomever was on the other end of her microphone. He had to stop her before she made another transmission. Pulling himself up, he reached over and grabbed her shoulder. He felt her tense up under his touch, and spoke, "Don't move." _

_When he felt her freeze, he reached over and unhooked her throat mike, causing it to drop off her neck. "I need you to trust me." He altered his voice as best he could, he had to show her proof first that he wasn't who she thought he was._

"_Trust you?" Sinon spoke, her words like ice. He glanced at her right shoulder, it twitched in a subtle manner. She was thinking about going either for her sidearm or fighting back in some way, he knew. "You sneak up on me, and you want me to trust you?" _

"_Look over there." He answered, keeping his eyes on her right shoulder. "By the edge of the town where your team is, just past that ruined building that's smack dab in the middle of all those still standing shops. See it?" _

_He heard her grumble for a moment, her head tilted at a degree that suggested she wanted to turn towards him. After a moment, she nodded. "Good, now look with your scope." He saw her turn her head back towards him again, this time to where he could see the corner of her eye, but he made sure to keep the bulk of himself behind her head. "Please," he added. _

_She remained still for a while, to the point he was worried she would miss it, but she finally complied, looking through her rifle scope, scanning the building. "What am I looking for?" She asked, her tone reflecting her disdain for him and this situation. "Just keep looking."He looked over himself, knowing that Siegfried would show up at any moment around there. A minute passed, and he started to worry that he'd already left, when a flash of black against the yellow sand alerted them both. He heard her let out a small gasp, just as the figure disappeared into an alley. "That was –!" _

"_The Black Swordsman. Siegfried." He let go of her shoulder, and she turned back towards him with a surprised look. _

"_Kirito?!" _

_Kirito nodded with a small smile. "Sorry for the strange game. But I needed to show you proof I wasn't him." He could tell she wanted to say something else, but he held up his hand. "Sorry, we can talk later, but for now you're all in danger. There's no way to take on Siegfried – the Black Swordsman – at our current level." _

_Sinon looked confused for a moment, but she took his words seriously. "I want to ask you a lot of questions – questions I expect answered later. But for now, what do you suggest?" _

_He smiled, glad she was quick on the uptake. "Thank you. For now, just stick to your original plan, but don't use your communicator, at least not until after the fight, he has an interceptor that can pick up on radio signals. It's how he avoids getting ambushed in situations like these. I'm afraid he already knows your friends are here."_

_He saw her worried glance, taking back to her scope to look out at the town, trying to catch a glimpse of her friends, he guessed. They both saw The Black Swordsman pulling himself onto a rooftop a block from the main road at the same time. Kirito cursed as he stood. "I know you're supposed to provide sniper support until they drive him into the plaza, right?" She nodded, "The only way I think we can take him down is I can get close enough to pin him – he can survive gunfire long enough to kill whoever is fighting him. When that happens, just shoot him to keep him occupied until I can knock him out or . . . he's dead." Kirito hesitated at the end, looking away. "He's not an enemy we can afford to be lenient to." _

_Sinon was silent for a moment, looking him in the eyes seriously, her blue eyes hard with an emotion he couldn't quite pinpoint, but it felt familiar to him. "Roger that." Her voice was cool and calm, her face serene._

_He had to turn away, or he'd be stuck staring at her mesmerizing face. "Remember, you're going to the be the trump card, so don't shoot until we have him preoccupied or he'll come for you!" _

_Kirito let out a small grunt as he hopped from the bell tower, hearing Sinon yell after him, hitting the roof with a tumble. Then, with the assistance of his high ‹‹AGI›› score, leaped from the church to the nearby roof top, and started running from roof to roof to catch up with Siegfried. _

XXXX

". . . mmnm."

The smallest sound of human life brought Kirito out of his memory. "Sinon?" he called out, still unable to see. He wondered for a moment if it was due to them being in total darkness, thus the human eye had no light to adjust to, or that the system had deemed this area 'dark' without a light source.

"Kiri. .to?" Sinon called out. She found herself in complete darkness, and did the same as Kirito had, checking to see if she had anything covering her eyes as she sat up. "Where. . .?"

"Hold on, Sinon. I'll turn on a light." He made sure to cover the light with his hand partially as he did so, not wanting to accidentally blind her. The flashlight clicked on, illuminating the area in front of him, and he saw Sinon's back. He uncovered the light as she turned, feeling like apologizing as she winced for a moment. "We're in a cave, as you can see. Where exactly, I can only guess."

Sinon took a moment, her eyes adjusting to the light. There was no pain like when one normally went from darkness to light after being without it for a while. Rather, it was a natural reflex the brain imposed, thus why the avatar flinched. She looked to the sand pillar that fell, already guessing how they got here. She looked to Kirito who was waiting patiently. "What about the others?"

Kirito shrugged. "I don't know. I'm guessing we all got split up after we got sucked in." He saw the frown on her face as she looked past him, down the long dark tunnel. "Don't worry," he started, putting on a smile, "I'm sure they're just fine."

Sinon looked as if she remembered something, and then swiped open her menu. Her brows fuddled when she looked at the ‹‹Social›› option, which would expand into sub-options like ‹‹Private Message›› but it was grayed out.

"Can't send or receive messages in a dungeon." Kirito spoke, guessing what she was trying. Dungeons and specialized PvP areas had a function like that, probably to avoid allowing for players to communicate with each other outside of radios and such to keep it fair or realistic.

Sinon grumbled, swiping her menu away akin to someone slamming a phone down. "Let's go look for them then."

Kirito stood with her, "Are you sure, you just got up, we should –"

"It's not a real body, I'll be fine." She replied, there was no bite or anger to her tone, she was just stating a fact. She checked her HP, "I'm surprised I haven't taken any damage," Then a thought occurred to her, "Did you . . .?"

Kirito nodded, though he was a bit hesitant. "Yes. You were at yellow, so I . . . uh, didn't want to take any risks if we got attacked." He felt like the explanation sounded way too fishy, but saw her nod.

"Thanks. It's appreciated."

He let out a mental sigh, as she saw her start looking around with an increasing alarmed look. "My rifle. Where is it?" She started feeling the ground around her with her foot, trying to find her ‹‹Remington M24››.

Kirito unclipped his flashlight, sweeping it around the cavern. He frowned, it wasn't anywhere near. "It must have been separated from you when the car crashed." He grimaced, knowing what it meant if a sniper didn't even have something to snipe with.

Sinon ground her teeth, wanting to scream in frustration. She patted her side, sighing when she felt her ‹‹Glock››. "At least I have this." She grumbled, besides it wasn't like she could use a rifle in such close quarters.

"We might find it while we look for the others, it probably fell in with us." He tried to sound supportive, already understanding that there might be far too many side tunnels it could have fallen through, not to mention they had no idea how big this tunnel was, if there were more, or even worse – what lurked within. The tunnels weren't man made, nor did they seem natural. Something made these.

Sinon pulled out her sidearm, checking to make sure there wasn't anything wrong with it before holding it secure in her hands. "We should go, which way?"

Kirito nodded, pulling out his own weapon after reclipping the light. He nodded to the right with his chin. "It looks like it ascends that way, it's a good place to start if nothing else." Seeing her nod, he started walking.

They walked in silence, both feeling too nervous as they listened for anything that might attack them in this unfamiliar setting. Much to their displeasure, the chosen path didn't keep it's path, instead twisting and turning, ascending and descending in an almost erratic pattern. Minutes turned into almost an hour of walking, and still nothing was found. Kirito began to feel a bit uncomfortable at the silence, it was compounding on the feeling of being trapped inside something he would never escape from. Coming to a stop, he turned towards Sinon.

"We've been walking for an hour, we should take a break."

Sinon shook her head, taking a step closer to him. "We haven't found the others yet. We can't rest until then." Her voice wasn't as guarded as it was when she first regained consciousness. It held clear concern for her companions. Her eyes shown with the same concern, to the point it was clear to him that ‹‹Black Dog›› was more than a group of friends to her. She took another step, and then the sound of a rock cracking was shortly followed by Sinon letting out a surprised yelp as she stumbled forward.

"Sinon!" Kirito shot forward, moving to catch the falling girl. His arms were left hanging, however, as she caught herself, stumbling to the side with a small sigh. He withdrew his arms, not giving any attention to the disappointment he felt. He watched as she walked away, a frown on his face.

Sinon kept moving, but soon noticed that the light wasn't following her. She looked back bewildered, until she saw Kirito sitting down and reaching into his pouch. She huffed, walking up. "We don't have time for this."

Kirito ignored her at first, and produced what looked like a generic round tin of food. He offered it to her, noting her displeased face. "Just five minutes. I haven't eaten since this morning and I doubt you have either."

Sinon opened her mouth, until a very loud growling sound echoed into the cave. Her cheeks turned a bright red, a stark contrast against her ice blue hair, as she brought an arm over her traitorous stomach that betrayed her when it saw the food.

Kirito only grinned as he waved the can a few times towards her, until she took it from him, still blushing.

"Only for five minutes." She murmured, sitting next to him.

"That's all I ask for." He replied, before pulling out another can, pulling the top off. He even had a plastic fork, which he handed to Sinon, before starting to eat the canned meat with his bare hands.

The sniper watched him, feeling a bit guilty about how nice he was being. "Sorry for taking your fork. And thank you." She spoke, pulling the top off herself. She got one whiff of the contents and her nose wrinkled. "What is this stuff?!" She held the offensive can a foot from her as she looked at the contents within.

"Dunno." Kirito spoke, his speech a bit muffled by the food in his mouth. "It's only listed as ‹‹Ration›› in the Slum stores. Never specified a flavor." He remember the first time he opened one too. "It's not much to smell, but the taste isn't bad. I'd almost rate it higher than the stuff they serve in the Slums."

Sinon grimaced as she looked down at the food, very slowly plunging the fork into one of the slime pink pieces of food, bringing it up to her mouth. She opened her mouth for a moment, but the scent wafted into her nose once more, making her close it again with a small whine. Getting frustrated, she shoved it into her mouth before another whiff could pass her nose, and immediately grimaced as the almost tangy taste of the meat assaulted her tongue. She chewed it as fast as she could, her eyes watering as she swallowed. Oh how she missed the ‹‹Ribeye›› from ‹‹Lawman's Whistle››.

Kirito couldn't help but watch with a smile as Sinon continued to force down the low quality food, her face reflecting her disdain for the canned good. Grabbing his canteen, he unscrewed the top and took a long sip, before handing it to Sinon.

"Ah, thank you but," she spoke, her lips puckered and her face looking like a disgruntled kitten from the food, "I already have my own." She pulled it out, taking a drink, hoping the fluid would wash away the taste.

When she finally finished, it was with the feeling of having fought a battle. She looked over to Kirito, who'd been reclining up against the wall, waiting patiently for her to finish. "You really eat this stuff?"

"Only when I'm out and need something to eat. I don't really like it either," he replied with a chuckle. "You should see the way Miller eats the stuff." Kirito straightened up, his face falling into a complete emotionless mask. His hands went to hold an invisible can and fork, miming eating a ration with absolutely no emotion. At her chuckle, he let the act drop. "I'm serious, I've never seen him crack a smile, not once. The guy is about as business as a person can be." Kirito stood, knowing Sinon would want to keep going.

She quickly followed suit, placing the can in her pouch by instinct. The trash would be erased from the system had she just left it on the floor long enough, but it still felt wrong not to dispose of it properly. Letting him take the lead, she followed behind him, feeling more normal than before. She hated to admit it, but she needed the small food break. "So," she started, feeling the want to talk, "Miller, how did you meet him if you don't mind me asking?"

Kirito's shoulders tightened for a moment, but they relaxed them before it was too obvious. He frowned, glad she couldn't see his face.

"Kirito?" Sinon asked, her neutral expression starting to turn worried, "I didn't mean to pry, you don't have to –"

"It's fine," he interrupted, sounding like he forced himself. "It's just a long story is all. But it's not much a stretch to say he might be the reason I've survived as long as I have. If we have time later, I'll tell you about it."

She watched his back, her eyes reflecting the sorrow she felt at his explanation. She felt an eerie understanding of what he meant. If it hadn't been for Dyne saving her, helping her live in this world, she didn't know if she would still be standing here.

Their conversation didn't continue, each lost in their own thoughts as the tunnel continued. But, before long, a problem presented itself. After finishing a bend in the tunnel, Kirito groaned, "An intersection, really?" He wasn't too surprised, it was probably some kind of dungeon after all. He felt Sinon walk past him, and turned to give her some light.

Sinon scanned down each tunnel, a frown on her face. "They all look the same. We could get easily lost if we're not careful." The thought of being trapped who knows how far down in these twisting tunnels gave her a small shudder. She heard the sound of rocks being moved, and she turned to see Kirito squatting down, piling up rocks. "Kirito?"

"I'm making a marker." He replied, trying to make a noticeable pyramid out of the loose rocks nearby. "This way, we at least know what path we've already been down."

It made sense enough, better than nothing. Looking around, she spoke, "Well, want to go left then? When running through a maze, it can usually be solved by always following the left wall."

Kirito nodded as he stood, making sure not to topple his creation. "Sounds like a plan to me. Let's just hope we don't have to trace the whole maze." He grumbled out at the end, he hated mazes, always felt like a waste of time to him. He'd been dared into a garden hedge maze once as a child by his sister, who followed behind. Her goal had been to go see the rose garden that was supposed to be in the middle, but after an hour of being lost his aunt had to come in after to find them. And for the record, it wasn't even that nice of a garden for all that effort.

To him, there was nothing worse than being stuck in a maze. At least in that hedge maze as a child, the sun had been shining bright and sounds of others could be clearly heard. Here, in this dark abyss, there was no sound other than the echo of their footsteps, the sound of his own breathing and phantom sounds caused by the far away echoes. The jagged nature of the rocks below made it difficult to walk, his feet sometimes landing in awkward, painful angles, either stepping onto or off a larger chunk or rock. The light didn't even extend further than around six feet, illuminating a cone in front of him. It made things just that more nerve wracking in this dark tunnel system.

Time seemed to move at it's own pace here. With each passing minute, it felt like everything was either slowing or speeding up. One intersection turned into two. Paths turned into dead ends, and sometimes even straight drops or climbs straight up. They both tried their hands and climbing the up tunnels, but found it too difficult, not to mention dangerous without proper climbing gear. It wasn't worth the risk unless they knew it was a guaranteed way out. It didn't help any that they'd yet to see a single monster. His gut told him this was a dungeon, so why was there no enemies?

Kirito could sense Sinon's anxiety from his occasional glances back at her, it even began to break her cool and collected mask as her eyebrows began to knit in worry and her head was moving more and more to look around. It wasn't really something he could say he understood. He grunted as he landed a step wrong on one rock, his weight shifting forward suddenly from the movement. The terrain was slowing them up too much. Had it been even a bit less rocky, they would have covered far more ground. Glancing down at the time, he let out a sigh and stopped. "We should stop for now, Sinon."

The sudden stop and statement startled the girl, "What, why?" Kirito pointed with his finger, down towards her bottom right. She saw the time, it was 8:42 PM. They'd been exploring now for the better part of four hours. Her jaw hung open, seeing it. She had started to feel tired, the days events taking their toll, but that long? She wanted to argue, to say they had to keep going, but she knew better. Trying to traverse this area without any sleep would be a gross error. She grumbled out a mute complaint, then added, "I see."

Kirito gave her a smile, trying to cheer her up. "C'mon, there was a bit of a smooth patch of ground back towards the last intersection. We can sleep there for a bit, then we can start looking again. We have to be getting close to finding the way out." He saw her take a small deep breath, before nodding again. "Besides," he continued, "with how much searching we've done, they may not have even fallen in the hole with us. I didn't see anyone else in the whirlpool besides you, they might be searching for us above ground now."

Sinon gave a small laugh. "You're terrible at trying to cheer someone up, you know?" Kirito scratched the back of his head, turning away, looking perturbed. She smiled warmly while he wasn't looking, "but, thank you all the same."

XXXX

The 'smooth' patch of ground was only so in comparison to the jagged floor all around them. Kirito shifted his rear shortly after sitting, it was still too uncomfortable. He pulled off his flashlight and inspected it, a small plastic screen showed the battery was at 70% life still. Hopefully it would last as long as they needed it to. Pulling open his menu, he procured more ‹‹Rations››. "Here, your favorite." Kirito joked as he handed it over to Sinon who gave a word of thanks, but her face was clearly anything but grateful for the canned slop.

He double checked his inventory. He read over what he had left. Enough food for three days, but with feeding Sinon too that would cut it down to a day and half. Thankfully, there was no fear of dying if they didn't eat. However, it was proven by some rather stubborn players that eating was required to keep mental focus. The brain was completely convinced that the avatar was it's own body. Thus when it hadn't detected food being eaten, it kept sending increasingly urgent warnings to eat. Same thing with staying hydrated.

Sinon tucked another slimy piece of canned meat into her mouth, watching Kirito from the corner of her eye. Having been thrust into the situation they were in, she hadn't had a whole lot of time to consider their predicament, or more importantly her own. Here she sat with a boy she'd been convinced was the Black Swordsman up until shown otherwise. She had been too preoccupied with her suspicions the first time they had met, but now she couldn't help but be interested in him. He was far stronger than she would have given him credit for, looking at him, plus he was well prepared. Dyne usually stocked a weeks worth of ‹‹MRE›› in the convertible, though she didn't know if they survived the crash or not. If they could find the car, maybe she wouldn't have to eat _this. _She never saw any ‹‹Rations›› for sale before in Glocken's stores. She wondered if that was something only sold in the Slums, and the MRE's were sold in city proper?

"Kirito," Sinon spoke, her tone holding a small grimace as the foul taste hit just right on her tongue, "you seem really capable. Where did you learn all this?" It was generally a taboo to ask people questions like these, but her curiosity won out her manners.

Kirito looked a bit surprised as he threw another piece of food into his mouth, chewing it quickly before answering. "Miller. He taught me just about everything I know now." His tone wasn't subdued like it was before. He saw the look on her face, as she remembered their earlier conversation, and he shook his head. "Don't worry about earlier, that was something else." He ate the final piece of his food, before setting the can down. "I'm not really sure who Miller is, to be honest." Kirito leaned back, his head craning up some. "He's quiet – never talks about himself or answers any questions about him when I ask."

"I was. . . in a bad way, when I first met Miller." Kirito's eyes glazed over, as his recollection of the first month of GGO was anything but pleasant. "It was in the Slums. I had just gotten back from a quest out in the desert, when I heard a rather loud commotion – loud is something normal for the Slums, but this was just out of place, it sounded violent. I went to go check it out, it was by a food stand that I particularly disliked as I'm still convinced it was rat burgers they sold there."

"A white player had wandered down into the Slums alone and poorly equipped. A group of orange players had surrounded him, looking to mug him or something similar. There aren't a whole lot of murderers. . ." Kirito trailed off for a moment, before closing his eyes tight for a second as his nightmare came to him for a brief second, but he shook it off as fast as he could, trying to play it off, " – in the Slums. Most orange players are thieves." He glanced at Sinon, she'd caught his pause, but she wasn't saying anything.

"Anyways. I couldn't just let them have their way. I went to go stop it." He gave a slight chuckle, his mouth turning into a nervous grin as he scratched his cheek. "Unfortunately, I hadn't quite counted on their numbers then. I only thought there were four of them – there had been six."

"You won, I take it?"

Kirito's nervous grin grew. "No – I got my butt beat into the ground and then some. It really hurt." He couldn't help but notice the look of pity on her face, and started to think next time he told that part he should make it a little more dramatic at least. "Well, I did do my best at least, but there were just too many of them. The white player had already vanished, of course, leaving me to them. I was sure that they were going to get carried away and might kill me." And at the time, he thought, he probably wouldn't have minded. "But, that was when Miller showed up."

"It was amazing, I've never seen anyone move as smoothly as him. Ever hear of the concept of economic fighting, of no wasted movement when it comes to attacking and defending? Miller would be the very example of it. I still can't even recall how he did it, his movements were flowing from attacking to defending, from grappling to throwing – all I know is that all six were down in a matter of seconds – all knocked out cold by his bare hands while they had guns and knives. He was barely any higher level than them at the time too."

Sinon blinked, looking surprised. When she had met Miller, he definitely gave the impression of being someone she didn't want to get on the wrong side of. Especially with the eerie vibe he gave off. Taking out that many people so quickly though?

"After scraping myself up off the ground, I couldn't help but notice that he was staring directly at me. It was unnerving, but I still managed to ask him – why did you help me? He didn't understand me, and said as much in English, which made me realize he didn't speak Japanese. So I asked him again, this time in English." Kirito couldn't help but feel the small goosebumps that ran up his arm. "He answered, not even looking the slightest bit surprised that I spoke English, [Your soul interests me.]"

Sinon stared in confusion at Kirito, "Your . . . [soul]?" she asked, her tone reflecting her disbelief in such a strange statement.

Kirito shrugged. "He's never explained it. Like I said, he's a more or less a mystery even to me, and I've known him for almost five months. But, at any rate, I was fascinated by him. At the time my whole battle strategy wasn't the greatest. I used a mix of my sword, which at the time was a longsword, and the starting pistol. I wasn't keen on learning to use my gun, a sword has always felt more comfortable to me."

"But, it clearly failed me. I'd never really fought other players in a square match with my sword like I had that day, and I found out just how flawed my style was. It made me realize I was trying to be something I couldn't be in this game. I knew Miller could teach me, show me how he was able to fight like he'd been in this world for years. It took some persuading by offering him my ability to act as a translator in return for him training me. He agreed, and since then he trains me when he has free time. He stays with me too, but he tends to be out for long periods of time, so I never know when I'll see him again. As for what he does, well I have my theories, but I have no concrete proof."

"Doesn't it strike you as strange though?" Sinon asked, having found herself a bit closer to Kirito as the story progressed. "Why would someone who speaks only English be playing GGO? I know this game was co-produced by an American company, but wasn't it to launch here first?"

Kirito nodded. "Yeah, it's been something I've rolled over in my head quite a few times too. I haven't asked, however. I already know that he wouldn't tell me, but. . ." he trailed off, looking like he was in thought.

"But?" Sinon repeated, looking curious, leaning a bit closer.

Kirito's hand went to his chin, "It's not something I can really say without sounding paranoid but, I feel like I can't trust him. While he does intrigue me, I can't help but want to keep him at arms length, like I know he does to me. It's almost like some primal instinct is telling me – that man is dangerous." He glanced over to Sinon, and couldn't help but blush as he realized she was far closer to him than she was before. He saw her face turn a bit confused, and he started to stammer out, "A-Anyways, what about you? How did you get to know those guys?"

Sinon expected the question, though she still hadn't been prepared for it and found herself looking away from him, remembering the night she was almost mugged. She saw him starting to open his mouth, but she put a hand up. "It's fine, I don't really mind telling you. Besides, you told me yours." She berated herself for a moment, she had to learn to become strong, and part of that included being able to talk about that day. But, she still found herself drawing her knees in closer.

"It's a bit of a long story but, you see I have a fear of guns, a very acute one." Her voice was quiet, but in the dead silence of the tunnel, a whisper would have been easily made out.

"I'm sorry that. . . that must be horrible." Kirito replied, not knowing how to quite respond to that. Being afraid of guns in GGO would be akin to being afraid of air in reality. He then remembered that she had a gun at her side, "But then, how do you . . .?"

Sinon smiled at him. "Sorry, I guess I should have said, I _used _to have an acute fear. Or at least I've learned to keep it under control better." She pulled out her ‹‹Glock›› for emphasis. "See? Five months ago, had I done this in real life, I would have had a massive panic attack." Her brow knit slightly, the old her, the Asada Shino whom had been attending school and trying her best to avoid her bullies, didn't even feel like the same person. Was she still really Asada Shino? Had she ever been? Her old life felt like it was just a dream she'd woken from.

She re-holstered the ‹‹Glock››, trying to get her troubled mind from it's current path. "I joined GGO because I'd wanted to change that. I believed that if I came here, in a place where guns couldn't kill, I could learn to smile while holding a gun, to find the strength I would need in real life." She gave a self-depreciating laugh, "how stupid that idea was."

Kirito frowned, shaking his head. "I don't think so at all." She turned her head towards him, her expression unreadable. "You came here wanting to better yourself, to fight your fear. That alone is praiseworthy. You've already gotten stronger, haven't you? From what you said, you're so much farther from where you started that I doubt you can even see where you came from."

Sinon blushed, despite herself. "W-What are you saying? Such embarrassing things. . ." she turned her gaze away from him, her feet fidgeting. Just how could he say such things with a straight face? "A-Anyways, after the game started, I fled Glocken. I couldn't be surrounded by guns then, I was so terrified of them that I even threw away my only weapon."

"I managed to find a cave, out in the ‹‹Sea of Sand›› in a ruined village. I survived for a while on just scavenging and avoiding the few players that actually left Glocken. But, one night," her fist clenched, "my little delusion of safety I'd built for myself was shattered when a player invaded it, and tried to rob me."

"Tried?" Kirito asked, his concern clear.

Sinon gave a small bitter smile as she thought of it. "Dyne came in at the last second, and saved me. He killed the robber before he could do anything to me." The bitterness that had been brought on from her inablity to save herself fled soon, however, as her tone took on a more sweet upside, "After that, he took me in. Dyne's a really sweet man, he's gruff on the outside but he cares about all of us more than I think even he knows. Like Miller, he won't answer any questions about who he is in real life, but I never try to push it too much like Klein and Ginrou do, I know he's a good man."

Kirito couldn't help but feel envious of the way she spoke of him. He wondered how things would have gone for himself, had he met someone like Dyne instead of Miller.

"But, he was the one who helped me cope with my fear, to understand that being afraid of something didn't mean I didn't have the strength to fight back. It took some time, but I was able to see that I didn't have to fear my own gun. I still can't help small tremors sometimes, when I see a gun besides my own, but it hasn't stopped me yet." Sinon looked down at the ground, remembering earlier when they were fighting the Black Swordsman. "If. . . If I'm honest, I haven't fired a round at a player that could actually kill them, until today."

Kirito's eyes widened, realizing something. "Then that means I . . .Sinon, I'm so –"

"Don't," she interrupted, looking over at him, "It's okay. I chose to do it, not you." Her words came out strange, like she was trying to convince herself as much as she was him. "Besides, I knew he wouldn't be killed from one shot. It made it . . . easier." She said as much, but she could still remember how her hands trembled, as they were wrapped around her Remington.

She had ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› in her scope, the cross hairs properly lined up over his torso. She accounted for what little drop there would be at that range, the wind, everything. But she could feel it, the familiar fear that creeped into her. She wasn't going to fire a safe shocker round that wouldn't kill anyone. No, she had a live round chambered. Even if she knew that it wouldn't actually kill her target, what if she missed?

Kirito and he were fighting in close quarters, Kirito making sure to keep from blocking her shot. But even still. . . if she missed, she might kill Kirito. Her brow had begun to sweat and it wasn't just from the oppressive heat.

She couldn't, her arm began to shake too much. The crosshair was no longer on her opponent. She had to think of something else she could do to help – that's when she saw Kirito's health drop, as he barely parried a rather vicious blow. It wasn't by much, but it still dropped. That was when she remembered what Dyne had told her when he was training her.

_Remember Sinon. Pulling that trigger isn't easy and it never will be. The only people who say it is, are usually the ones that you want to point your gun at. But if you hesitate, that's all it takes for things to go wrong, and things can happen that you will never be able to fix. Never forget that. _

She took a deep breath as she settled back into her firing position, taking aim once more. If she didn't make the shot, everyone could die. This was no different than _back then. _She would do what she had to do, what only she could do. The crosshairs were right over the Black Swordsman's torso, his sword swung in a wide arc. Her mouth set into a grim line.

Now.

"Sinon?"

Sinon was brought from her memory with a startle, looking over at him. She saw the worry in his eyes and shook her head. "Sorry, I was just thinking about when I made the shot." The answer left him with a troubled understanding. She knew he was probably blaming himself again, regardless of what she said. The air between them was uncomfortable, making them look around the tunnel as if there was something of interest to be found.

Kirito struggled with something to say. Should he try apologizing again? She seemed rather put off by it last time, but he couldn't think of anything else. If he'd known she had that kind of problem he would never have thrown it on her to make that shot. He didn't even know why he thought he would have been able to take Siegfried out in the first place.

"How do you know the Black Swordsman?"

Her question made Kirito look over in confusion, blinking like he hadn't heard her. She repeated it again, her voice even and neutral, like she was asking something as simple as the time. To be honest, it threw him off. He had been expecting this question, but he was expecting her to be far more demanding and suspicious. He took a deep breath, before reaching over to check the flashlight, it was at 69%. "I'm going to shut this off, okay? We can't waste power, I don't have a spare."

Sinon nodded, and was unable to shake off a small shudder as the only light source was snuffed out. It was surreal, being able to see her UI still, but everything else was black. It was a strange darkness that was almost disconnecting. But even worse, it felt like instead of just being in darkness, she had lost the ability to see all together. Trying her best to shake off the feeling, she cleared her throat. "So, about the Black Swordsman?" She was answered by an initial silence, before she heard him finally begin to speak.

"I suppose you can say I'm hunting him. Though, for a different reason than most. It goes back to shortly after I met Miller."

"I was leveling in a mini dungeon I had found a few days prior outside of Glocken. It was an old nuclear fallout shelter that had malfunctioned shortly after it was sealed, and the door re-opened causing all of the inhabitants to suffer from radiation poisoning and die some pretty horrible deaths, or so the lore for the area goes. Of course, the problem is, that part of what was mixed in with the nukes was a biological weapon that turned everything it touched into mutants. The journals I found on the first floor was hinting at that it wasn't a malfunction though, rather foul play from inside."

"How do you know all of this?" Sinon asked, her voice being the only cue he had that she was probably looking at him puzzled.

Kirito couldn't help but blush as he scratched his head. "I really pay attention to the lore is all. . . I think it's pretty interesting, and there's a lot of it if you know where to look." He grumbled out the last bit, feeling as if he was having to explain himself. But a quiet laugh from Sinon caught him off guard.

"I'm not judging you or anything. I think it's cool that you know as much as you do, that you take the time to learn even though you're stuck in a game that's trying to kill us." Kirito smiled as he listened to her.

"Thanks," he replied, before his voice turned serious again. "But, the lore aside, I knew it was an untouched dungeon that I came across. Which wasn't that hard to come by as many of the players at that time were still refusing to leave Glocken. Which is why when I returned the next day to clear the next floor of it, I was surprised to find that someone had already been through."

"I knew it wasn't just decoration either. The monster corpses had red damage indicators on them, meaning they had been killed by a player and recently, as it takes an hour for a mob body to despawn and twenty four for a player character. My initial thought had been to leave. I try to avoid other players as much as I can because of my indicator, but I wanted to see who was stealing my – er, I mean who was brave enough to go into the dungeon. So I kept exploring the dungeon, though I equipped my ‹‹Black Cloak›› to be safe. As you probably know, it obscures my indicator and also masks my name. It's rather handy."

"It was impressive, just how many had been killed. There were a few rooms that had been littered with at least twelve mutant corpses. Had I been alone, I would have had a serious fight on my hands. In all likelihood I would have had to run and figured out a way to kill them one at a time." Realizing he begun rambling about solo tactics he cleared his throat. "The place had been picked clean, and I started wondering if the players had already left. . . however."

Kirito's brow knitted in the darkness, his fist tightening around the deactivated light he still held. "There was a player. He was sliced in half from skull to groin. I was so shocked I'd stood there for almost a full minute, just staring at the sight that I'd never seen before." It wasn't the truth. He hadn't seen a dead player since the time he had killed the two bandits. Seeing the slain player had brought back memories of that afternoon, and he'd almost lost it. "I tried to think of what could have killed him. I'd seen the mutant models that littered the area, the worst they had were razor sharp claws about two inches long. Nothing had any type of appendage that could _slice _a player in _half._"

"It was after that I started hearing gunfire, coming from the third sub-floor. I had a real moment of indecision. Should I go try and help? Was it even something I should stick my neck into? All I knew was that a player had been killed, and something was starting to feel very wrong to me. I decided to see if I could help, I wasn't just about to abandon someone I could possibly save."

"Not far from the entrance to the third floor, in what was some kind of recreational area for the shelter, I found where the gunfire was coming from." Kirito could still remember it, how the echoing sound grew so loud bouncing off of the steel walls all around him that it was a deafening roar. "That's when I saw him, Siegfried ‹‹The Black Swordsman››. I ran into the room that they were in. There were three players, all of them trying to flee and shoot at the same time. They. . . never stood a chance." He decided to spare her the details.

But he remembered it well. How Siegfried leaped across the small gap that separated his targets with a speed he hadn't known existed before. How his ‹‹Greatsword›› swung in a horizontal arc and cleaved two men with such ease they might have been paper. He still couldn't forget the screams as their upper torsos spiraled through the air, their last sight being a spinning world before their brains were fried. The last one had dropped his gun, begging for mercy.

Kirito tried to shout, to make it stop, but his voice betrayed him. It wasn't until later reflection it wasn't due to a glitch, rather a very primal fear that told him that if he made a sound, he was dead. If Siegfried considered mercy it hadn't been for long, opting to instead floor his opponent with a greaved kick across the man's face and plunging his sword into his opponent's torso with enough force to pierce the steel floor below. Kirito watched in horror as the final player pawed in desperation at the massive steel before his ghost fled him.

"How did you escape?" Sinon asked, her voice low even in the dead silence of the tunnel.

Kirito was glad for the darkness, his face troubled as he closed his eyes. "I hid," he answered. It was the truth, but it felt as if he'd just huddled in a dark corner like a scared child, terrified of the monster born from nightmares. It was nothing like he'd envisioned before. "That's not how you use a sword. It wasn't used to fight, it was just used to murder." A man holding his chest in pain, a decapitated head, he had to do everything he could to force those memories from him.

"Eh?" Sinon was rather surprised at the voice in which Kirito spoke. It was full of nothing but regret and disgust. She couldn't help but recognize the tone in which he'd spoken.

Kirito realized he'd spoken out loud and blushed from embarrassment, despite the feelings he had. "Forget I said that. . ." he mumbled, covering his face with his free hand.

She couldn't help but feel as though there was something Kirito hid from her. It intrigued her, but it was far from polite to ask. Deciding to steer the conversation back, she asked, "So, if that's where you first saw him, how did you learn his name? Every time anyone's seen him his name has been obscured." Her mind was already presenting the answer to her question, but she wanted to hear it from him.

Glad for the topic switch, Kirito was quick to answer. "You remember what I told you about my ‹‹Black Cloak››? It's the only item known of that can give that effect. And trust me, I have a reliable source that doesn't let a thing escape her nose." He chuckled out the last bit, wondering how she was right now.

"So he got the same item you did? That explains why I confused you with him."

"It explains why, but not how." He heard her make a questioning 'eh?' "Take a look at an item received from a quest reward, like the scarf I gave you," he heard her open her menu, though it wasn't visible due to it's privacy feature being on, "See the Unique tag that's below the item's name? That means that there's only one of it in the entire game."

"Wait. . ." Sinon started, as she looked at the scarf with knit brows. "Are you saying that ‹‹Black Cloak›› is one of those unique items? How would he. . .?"

"That's the same thing I asked. As soon as I realized that the item couldn't have been a different one, I took a far keener interest in someone I'd thought of as just a mad murderer. Other things started sticking out as weird to me. When he was fighting those three, they were clearly firing at him yet he was taking little damage – something you've witnessed first hand. He moved with such strength and agility I knew it was caused by the assistance from the system. In other words his ‹‹STR›› and ‹‹AGI›› scores had to be far higher than they should be. I'm level 42 and I've been grinding almost non-stop since launch."

Sinon couldn't help but make an impressed sound, as she looked over at her level 38 tag. Leveling in GGO was no small feat, and she herself had been fighting almost every day, sometimes without the other three when they wanted a day off. Just how hard had Kirito been pushing himself in this world?

"I started looking into him." Technically Argo did with assistance from him, but he didn't need to mention her if he didn't have to. "He was a phantom. No one knew where he could be found, the only information available was from third hand accounts that saw him walking from the scene of a massacre. I scoured the Slums and Glocken both, trying every single avenue possible and obtaining any information I could." It had been beyond amusing watching how men who's avatars could have passed as Yakuza shit themselves at the sight of Argo appearing before them. The little blond was cute and friendly, but had a ferocious streak a mile long when dealing with business.

"It took me almost a month, but one day I finally found him by complete accident. He was driving a motorcycle out of the Slums and back up into Glocken. Only reason I recognized him was because of the monster greatsword he had slung over his back and the cloak. I grabbed a renter and tailed him." Argo had been riding on the back, and the memory of her hugging onto his back as he rode made him squirm for a moment. Especially when she started whispering in his ear, making suggestive comments. He knew it was only her teasing him, but still.

"He went all the way to the Fuller Corporation building, getting off right in front of it's player devoid plaza. I had no idea why he was there. Both the Fuller and Yokohama buildings are some of the very few buildings that are closed off from player entry, for reasons I can only guess are related to story quests. But, as he walked up to the sliding doors, they opened."

Sinon's brows raised in surprise. She herself had tried to enter the Yokohama building, receiving only a _No Entry _Red Circle with a line through it. "Could he have been on a quest to go in there?"

"He could have, yes, but I have another theory all together. He owns a unique item that I'm in possession of, stats that are just far too high, and entered a building that's off-limits to players. . . the only conclusion I could come to at the time is he has to be a GM."

"A GM?" Sinon replied, she had heard the term before she thought but wasn't sure.

"A GM, or Game Master, is a person who usually works for the company that developed the MMO and has the power to change things in game as they need to. This includes things like character restorations, punishing players who are found cheating, to even granting items or weapons to themselves or others depending on the situation – even if they're not supposed to technically exist in the game."

Sinon's jaw dropped. "Then that means The Black Swordsman . . .is it even possible to defeat someone like that?" She felt as if she'd been slapped. Someone participating in this game like that, how could anyone hope to defeat him when the time came?

"I don't know. But the truth is a GM could just kill us with a push of a button, or make it impossible for us to fight back."

Something clicked for Sinon. "But, if that's true, why fight you at all? Why not just use his GM commands to kill?"

Kirito made a 'hm' sound. "That's the same thing I thought, and what happened after only proved that either he's playing with some sort of twisted sense of honor, or he's not actually a GM."

"What happened?"

Kirito let his head fall back against the rock, as he looked up towards the ceiling, remembering that day. "We got too close, I suppose, he tried to kill my friend."

XXXX

_Two months ago. . . _

Kirito let out a small scream of surprise as he was suddenly flipped, his world turning upside down, before slamming down onto the hard pavement under him. A pistol appeared in front of his face, a bullet clearly showing in the chamber.

[You're dead.]

Kirito groaned, hitting the ground next to him with his clenched fist in frustration. "Dammit, that makes twelve losses in a row." The pistol was removed from his sight, and Kirito groaned as he pulled himself up, the pain still lingering through his body.

Miller holstered the gun, looking at Kirito with his cold eyes. [You're still far too slow. If you're going to attack, do it faster – and don't overextend yourself or you leave your self wide open. And speak English, I can't understand you.]

[I said, that makes twelve, maybe if you started paying attention you'd learn some Japanese.] Kirito scoffed as he pulled himself up with a grunt. [You sure you're not going easy on me?] He suddenly felt his legs get kicked out from under him as he was once more met by the supportive floor.

[Take this seriously. That's twelve times you've died. You've improved considerably but you're still no match for a soldier who knows what he's doing. You're relying far too much on your stats, thinking that it's the only thing that will be the deciding factor in a fight.]

Kirito sighed into the pavement, the unholy stench of garbage filling his nostrils. Miller was right, it really did make no sense to him that the man was beating him with such ease. He was five levels higher than the older man, yet his knowledge and skill was making up for the lack of numbers. GGO was based around skill, it didn't matter if he was level 100, something told him Miller would still be able to ground him every time – though it might take a while for the coup de grace. And as much as he would hate to agree with the American, he was right.

Pushing himself up on his hands and knees, Kirito sighed again. [You're right, I'm sorry. Give me just – ] he was interrupted as he heard the small notification sound for a PM. [One moment.] He switched to a kneel, and opened up his menu. A single new message awaited him from Argo, though there was no subject. Which was odd for her as she usually liked to add an emoticon or two. Opening it, there was map coordinates within the Slums along with the two words HELP, ROOF.

Kirito gasped. He shot to his feet, not bothering to look back as he charged from the area in back of the apartment complex they used to train.

[Kirito! Where are you going?!] Miller shouted after him.

[Argo is in trouble, she needs my help!] He yelled back. He knew better than to ask Miller for help. Argo's coordinates wasn't far from here, three blocks away at what looked to be an abandoned office building.

He knew the back alleys well enough by now, darting through them, vaulting over trash and debris like it was second nature, pushing his ‹‹AGI›› to it's limits. The office building was in sight, it had only been two minutes since Argo's PM. His eyes locked onto the fire escape that zigzagged up the five floor building. Emerging from the alley, he didn't bother running around to get to the base of the stairs, opting to instead leap and pull himself over the first set, and then running up the stairs as fast as he could, taking them two at a time.

_Bang! Bang! _

Kirito's eyes widened as he recognized the sound of Argo's twin ‹‹Sig Sauer P226 MK 25›› being fired. The sounds of something _massive _being struck against concrete shook the staircase at the same time. A cold sweat broke from Kirito's brow as there was already an idea in his head as to who was attacking his friend. As he cleared the final set, he beheld the source of the noises.

Argo stood in a very peculiar stance, her legs spread shoulder width and bent slightly at the knee, while her right arm bent at the elbow and held close to her, while her left was out stretched. It was a martial arts stance, more specifically Argo's unique ‹‹Gun Fu›› stance. It wasn't an actual skill, rather a blend of her ‹‹Dual Wield›› and ‹‹Martial Arts››. Her hood was pushed off her head, her blond hair matted with sweat over her green eyes that shone with both courage and fear. Her breathing was heavy, her chest heaving with each breath, though her stance suffered none from it. Her body sported a few red slash marks, and her HP was in the yellow, under the half mark.

The Black Swordsman moved, fast enough to break the tile under his foot. Argo's eyes widened as she barely registered the coming swing. She threw herself into a roll to the right, shooting once as she did so, her bullet finding it's mark in his torso.

If he felt it, he didn't show, as he turned the sword in his grip and swung low in a sweep to hit her as she stood. But she jumped and kicked off his sword, thrusting her arms forward as she sprung over him, firing wildly into his avatar. But, her attack was short lived as a gauntlet shot up and grasped her face, _hard, _a small scream being muffled by his hand.

Kirito screamed out as The Black Swordsman half-turned and slammed her into the tile hard enough to make it shatter with a loud _crack_ as she bounced off the ground, her HP dropping to red. With the same speed he showed before, he grabbed his sword with both hands and prepared for an overhand swing, aiming to finish off the girl.

"_ARGO!_" Kirito screamed in desperation as he ran forward. The sword was descending. Kirito grit his teeth as he dived forward under the guillotine blade and scooped her up, barely tucking into a roll and avoiding getting cut in half with her as the sword slammed down.

Kirito let out a grunt as his side hit the roof entrance of the inside staircase, protecting the girl from the impact. The Black Swordsman was still, but his head was turning towards him.

"Kii-bou. . . you came." Argo spoke, her voice weak and full of the pain she was reeling from. Her green eyes were half-lidded, honest relief showing through them.

"Of course I did." Kirito looked down at the dirty and hurt girl, his concern for her written on his face plain as day. "Argo, you're going to be okay, just wait here." He knew that as long as her HP recovered she'd be fine, but it wasn't easy to remove himself from the thought of her dying from her wounds in the state she was in.

"Nn. . . I know, because you're here." The girl gave him a small smile.

Kirito's hands shook with rage as he whispered to her to hang on again, laying her down. The Black Swordsman had turned fully towards him, his face shrouded by the ‹‹Black Cloak›› that should not exist. Moving around Argo, he unholstered his Beretta and his shortsword. He stared at the motionless man, before speaking. "Why did you attack her?"

The Black Swordsman said nothing, instead raising his greatsword by grabbing the handle with both hands and pointing it's tip towards his face.

Kirito's brow tightened, as he slowly began to circle to the swordsman's left, away from Argo. The Black Swordsman seemed to humor him, moving to match Kirito and heading right. He felt sweat start to stain his bandanna, his body almost shaking from the adrenaline that was coursing through his brain. They were eight feet apart, and Kirito knew in order to win he had to get in close, to somehow disarm his opponent.

His foot shifted forward, he was going to strike first –! Kirito's body moved before his brain fully realized what happened, shifting right as the tip of the greatsword pierced where his head would have been. He fired off a shot, but the Black Swordsman dodged.

Again, Kirito tried to move in close, but the Black Swordsman brought his sword around for a diagonal swing before he was even two feet from where he set off from. Kirito ducked it, feeling the metal press against his shoulder as it slid off, he had been that close to losing his head.

Only a few feet. Kirito kicked off his planted foot, his eyes set on The Black Swordsman. He just had to do like Miller taught him, get in close and throw him down. There was no way he could recover from that swing in time to –

The Black Swordsman's blade stopped before it hit the ground, the swordsman letting out a grunt, stopping his kinetic movement and he spun himself right, the flat edge of the sword catching Kirito by surprise as he slammed the steel weapon into the boy like a mace.

"_Gah!" _Kirito choked out as he was sent flying by the impact, the pain simulators giving him a taste of what having all his ribs shattered at once would feel like. He hit the ground rolling, his world spinning before coming to a halt as he hit an AC unit with a loud _clang! _His mouth opened and closed, as he choked back a silent scream, instead opting for a pained and prolonged grunt. He looked at his HP, it was yellow. His mind was overtaken by the want to flee, to run as fast as he could from this place. This wasn't an enemy he could defeat. It was the same primal terror he'd felt when he watched him kill those other players.

But, he wouldn't leave Argo. Not while he drew breath. He struggled to even get himself off the floor, the pain still lingering. His arms shook and threatened to give out as he fought with every last ounce of willpower he could dredge up.

"Oh? How interesting," a deep, male voice spoke. It came from The Black Swordsman. "They tend to stay down after a hit like that. Not only did you dodge two of my attacks, but you still struggle after a clean blow. You're clearly a notch above the rest, you have my respect. And to answer your question, you stuck your noses in places they shouldn't be."

Kirito turned his head towards the Black Swordsman, he was walking towards him as if he had all the time in the day. His hands were still tightly wrapped around his weapons. He needed to get a shot off, something. He began to raise his gun, feeling some of the pain begin to ebb away. His aim shook from an unsteady arm, and he heard his opponent let out an amused scoff. Kirito's eyes shot open as a metal plated boot was shoved into his sternum, kicking him over and sending his HP into the red. He'd barely seen him move.

"What is your name?" The Black Swordsman asked, speaking over Kirito's pained grunts.

Kirito looked up towards the darkened hood. Swearing he should be tasting blood in his mouth at this point. He had no obligation to answer, yet he did. "K-Kirito."

The thick sword was raised above Kirito, it's point aimed to skewer his chest. "I am Siegfried. I will remember your name as the player who's given me the most trouble thus far." The sword raised up an inch.

Was this really the end? He tried to move his body, but the pain was just too much. _Argo, _he thought desperately, _please, run! _If she died, this would all be for nothing!

Then, he caught a glimpse of a small spherical object flying over head. He barely recognized it in time to shut his eyes. A loud _BANG _was the only thing he heard before his hearing was muted into a low ringing drone. When he opened his eyes, he saw The Black Swordsman stumbling back with an arm over his eyes. Kirito barely had time to register someone yanking him up from the ground.

"We have to go!" He looked at the disheveled blond hair, and his eyes widened as he heard her strained voice. "Argo, how –" Before he had time to ask, she was already pulling him along, almost lifting him as she ran. He knew her ‹‹STR›› was almost as high as his if not the same, but this was something else entirely. He did his best to keep up, but struggled as he almost stumbled.

They headed for the staircase he took up, and before he could even register the sound of Siegfried's angered yells, they were already bounding down the staircase. "Argo, hold on!" He tried to say, but he knew she wouldn't slow down, they couldn't. He finally found a bit more of his footing, but as he did, he let out a shout of surprise as on the third set of stairs, Argo tugged on his arm as she jumped over the railing, falling down the rest of the way to his horror. He didn't have the HP to risk – why?!

His question was answered as Argo managed to catch him with herself, landing in an awkward roll as they hit the pavement below. He barely took any damage from it, but swore half his life expectancy was shaved off. The small girl, who now seemed to have herculean strength and resolve, once more pulled him forward and started running. Kirito went with the flow this time, and managed to keep his run even with her, though her small gloved hand never stopped gripping his tightly.

Argo led him through the maze of back alleys with seemingly no rhyme or reason, though he knew she knew the area like the back of her hand. Within two minutes of them having jumped the staircase, they were far from the abandoned office building. Kirito had been content to just follow her, sensing she was on a her own personal crusade that she wouldn't be swayed from, but as he saw her start to slow and stumble, he reached out to her. "Argo, it's okay, we should be far enough away." His hand touched her shoulder. "Woah!" he gasped, as he scrambled to catch her as she fell backwards. When she fell into his arms, the first thing he noticed was just how hot her body had become, she was burning to the touch. Her breathing was ragged and quick, her eyes were just a sliver open. He knelt, holding her close to him.

A piece of the puzzle snapped in his mind, and he looked into the bit of her eyes he could see, and saw the whites of her eyes tinged red. The quick recovery, her enhanced speed and strength and now her sudden collapse and apparent fever. His mouth trembled. "You idiot. . . a ‹‹Stimpack››." A helpful but dangerous item, a ‹‹Stimpack›› was a player made buffing item. It gave a huge boost to both ‹‹STR›› and ‹‹AGI››, but at a huge cost. It usually only winded a player, making them sluggish and putting a negative to their stats at half what they gained. But, if a player is low on HP when it's used, it's been rumored to have devastating effects on the psyche and avatar both when the debuff hit. "Why. . ."

Argo's red tinted eyes looked up at Kirito, she looked like hell, but had an almost satisfied look on her ragged expression. "I'm not gonna. . . let you die . . . Kii-bou." She spoke, her voice inflected with a tenderness that he never heard before from the information broker. A blush on her face was minor, and unnoticed from the redness brought on by fever. "You . . . you. . ."

Kirito leaned in closer, his expression soft. Even amidst the rubble and decay of this rotting back alley, he found it couldn't ruin the feeling he got from looking at the girl's honest and tender face.

"You owe me two thousand credits." She whispered out.

Kirito smiled an amused, but worried smile as he cradled her head close to his chest. "Just hang on Argo." He stood and moved as quick as he dared while not shaking her too badly as he started running towards his apartment to get her treated. He never noticed the way she gripped onto his fatigues and huddled herself closer into him.

XXXX

"It took her a few days to get back to normal. Luckily, he never caught up to us down there while I waited for her to get better. But I made sure to move after." Kirito took a drink of his water canteen, his throat parched from the tale. "Ever since, it's become a game of cat and mouse between us. I've tried to figure out someway to get the drop on him, possibly kill him without a fight if I can find something that would hit him hard enough. All the while he's been hunting me, trying to lure me out. He's been trying to get at my information broker too, but I implored her to stay above ground – I doubt she's heeded my wishes much."

"When you four came into the first floor labyrinth, I had been in the process of trying to set up a trap. I had hoped to take advantage of him fighting the boss by himself, but that didn't work out."

Sinon felt a sheepish blush creep across her face, and at the same time feeling annoyed for being indirectly pointed out as the reason his plan didn't happen. "Sorry," She mumbled.

"It's okay," he chuckled, "I'm sure it wouldn't have worked anyways. He was still at half-health when he finished off the boss."

Sinon still couldn't wrap her head around this player – supposed player, she reminded herself. Siegfried was far too strong to be meant to be part of this game normally. It defied logic for a GM to allow someone that could be so strong to go unchecked in a game devoted to skill and finding the best of the best. He had every unfair advantage in the book.

Him being able to solo the first dungeon's boss was no longer a mystery. The only mystery that remained now was how did he get so strong?

"It's late." Kirito announced, after looking down at his time that displayed 9:57. "We need to get some sleep before we start again. I'll take first watch."

Sinon couldn't help the thought that it was the best idea she'd heard all day. She was tired beyond belief, after all that had transpired for the day, plus the less than ideal amount of sleep the night before. "Thanks, I'll take you up on that." She replied, as she tried to find a comfortable spot against the wall, but it was too ragged. With a sigh, she chose instead to curl up against the floor using her arm as a pillow. It wasn't much more comfortable, but at least it wasn't poking into her everywhere.

As she closed her eyes, trying to focus on her own breathing, a thought popped into her mind. "Kirito, how did you know about Siegfried coming out here?" She opened her eyes as she spoke, though it served no purpose. The silence she was answered with worried her, making her wonder if she'd asked something she wasn't supposed to, when he heard him answer.

"I got a tip from my information broker that he was leaving town is all." He'd been careful up to this point to avoid naming Argo. While he knew she wasn't the type to be secretive about her profession or business, he didn't want anyone connecting himself to her, especially not people who ran in bounty hunter circles. He'd already endangered her life once, never again.

There was something about the way he answered her that made her question his reluctance to tell her his broker's name. But even still she trusted him now, if he didn't tell her she felt it was for a good reason – one she could guess. "I see. . . thank you. I don't know if we could have handled it if you hadn't been there." She admitted honestly.

Kirito blushed in the dark, looking away from the sound of her voice. "You would have all done fine. Now go to sleep."

Sinon smiled as she found the most comfortable spot she could. "Goodnight, Kirito."

XXXX

And another down.

Sorry for the bit of irregular flow of this chapter, but it was needed to really expound on the past events without devoting whole chapters to them. I plan on making sidestories one day in a separate fic, but until then this will have to do for explaining some of the events in the past 5 months that made it what it is.

I also would like to take this opportunity to promote one of my good friends on this site's stories, Aincrad Retold by Agent 94. s/9911916/1/Aincrad-Retold

Seriously, go check it out. He's an amazing author and basically my editor. I can't put enough praise on his extremely well done telling of SAO. Far better than how cannon handled it, you won't want to miss it. He's a freaking medieval combat expert so you know it's gonna be a hella good action packed story.

And I'd of course like to thank my military adviser Mr. California. Another fine author on this site, though he only has one story up s/10088864/1/GGO-Casualties-of-War it's still well worth the read and he's been the person who's helped me out much with understanding Sinon among other characters and many aspects of modern warfare.

Please leave a review on your way out, it really does help me and motivate me to do better and write more. I love to hear from my fans!

Until I see you all again,

Shinobi no Ryu


	6. That Which Should Not Be

Just a friendly reminder, anything in [ ] denotes a word spoken in English! As everyone is technically speaking Japanese.

* * *

><p><em>Kii-bou, I'm going with you!<em>

The large bar shook with heavy electronic music, the smell of cigarette smoke barely able to conceal the smell of puke and what Argo could only presume was urine. The bar was packed with all sorts of ne'er-do-wells and people whom she could really do without having to be around. These were the types that were either too cowardly or 'moralistic' to go into the Slums but still enjoyed engaging in less than _upstanding_ activities.

_Argo, you know you can't. He's too strong. _

The black metal walls seemed as if they weren't there, rather they were a black void that bordered the foul dive bar known as ‹‹Neptune's Boogie››, the only one like it in Glocken. Found rotting in a dark alley behind a less than reputable gun shop known as ‹‹Badman Bang›› that was only a block from the entrances to the Slums. Neon signs hung behind the bar she sat at, advertising different beers and alcohols and a single widescreen TV hanging from the roof to her left was playing a twenty-four hour news program channel. She scoffed, it wasn't really news. It insulted her pride as an investigative freelance journalist to call it such. It was just videos reporting on programmed events within GGO.

_. . .Kirito, please. _

The ice in her glass clinked as it shifted inside her orange juice. She'd tried an alcoholic beverage before out of sheer curiosity a few months ago, it tasted horrid, she spat it out the second it hit her tongue. She understood now why her father didn't drink – beyond keeping his body pure for their Art. Though. . . she had to admit being able to drink something that might take her mind off of things would be preferable to now. The same memory ran through her head over and over again. _Kirito, you jerk __– why are you doing this to me?_She scowled, raising the glass to take a drink. She checked out of the corner of her eye if her UI indicated any new PMs – there were none.

It wasn't right, she should have followed him, but. . .she sighed, placing the drink down. She wasn't high enough level to keep up with him. She hadn't leveled as hard as he, choosing to instead focus on her business. She needed to train harder, she had to keep up with him.

_Speaking of __buisness__. . ._she glanced around, keeping her face hidden by her oversized hood that only allowed her whisker marks to show. _Where the hell is he? __I swear the stink in this place is sticking to my cloak._This is why she hated dealing with ‹‹Frontmen››.

"Argo! There ya are babe! I've been looking for that sweet face all night!"

Argo clicked her tongue, before turning with a forced smile that she'd perfected for dealing with these types. "Oi, Voltron. Sorry for being late!" She kept her sarcasm in check. _I__diot_. If she didn't need to deal with him in order to get information about the ‹‹Slum Lords›› she'd –

"It's Volt, _Volt!_ Whyddya gotta call me by that lame ass name?" Volt's avatar was a man in his late twenties, short slicked back red hair framing a handsome rugged face with a long scar over his right eye. He was dressed in a sharp black suit with a red shirt underneath. She couldn't help but wonder if he ever knew how stupid he sounded, aiming to look like a tough, yet handsome guy yet his voice and way he talked betrayed that he was probably fifteen or younger in real life. Even his mannerisms betrayed his age, thus making him more awkward than the _coo__l_ he was shooting for. She admitted the avatar might be considered handsome by women, but it wasn't something she liked. An image of a black haired boy passed her mind and almost broke her concentration.

Argo waved at him playfully, "C'mon Voltron, don't be like that. Now sit down, get a drink – it's on me." She really hated this guy, but business is business. Besides, these flirty types were easy to milk credits from. Men really could be idiots at times.

Volt sighed, but shrugged as he put on the most suave smile he could as he sat down next to her on the stool, leaning on one elbow against the bar facing her. "I suppose that's your charm, certainly works on me." With a sly wink, he raised his hand to attract the attention of the NPC Bartender. "I'll take a Macallan Seven Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whiskey, please."

Argo felt her smile twitch, her annoyance kept in check as she watched his eyes scan the bottle perfectly, repeating exactly what he read. But, this is what she usually had to deal with when she encountered these types – White players who were hired by Orange player groups to take care of any and all business in Glocken. Of course they all differed a bit, but the fact was they all considered themselves traditional facemen like one would find in a tabletop RPG. And save for a few exceptions, they were all god awful, only good for the juicy info they liked to share for the right price. If she had been their GM, she'd have taken EXP for horrible acting.

The Bartender came over, a small glass being pulled from the bar below, an ice ball seated within. The NPC took the crystal glass liquor bottle filled with amber liquid and poured it in with the kind of perfection programming allowed.

The song selection switched in the bar, a bass heavy electronic song called ‹‹Andromeda Supernova›› pounding the chests off all in attendance, alternating neon lights flashing with each beat of the song. The players and NPCs that attended the bar all cheered in a loud echo for the popular song and begun dancing in a furious rhythm on the dance floor.

Argo felt Volt's eyes on her and she ignored it, choosing to instead take a drink from her orange juice. She opened a small trade window and threw the credits required to the NPC Bartender, who nodded his head and said a word of thanks before pushing the glass to Volt. She hoped the info was worth the drink, not to mention the rather pungent odor of Volt's overwhelming cologne that was clogging her sensitive nose.

"Go on then, spill it." Argo spoke, leaning in closer to Volt so she could hear him clearly over the music. Regardless of her distaste for him and his god awful cologne – seriously was it made from a dead animal?! This must be what the brand Sex Panther smells like! – what came out of his mouth, most of it anyways, would equal to credits for her.

The self-perceived charismatic ‹‹Frontman›› sipped at his drink, before placing it down in a very theatrical way. He held out his hand, a smug smile on his face. "You know the deal babe. This kind of info doesn't come free."

"How about you let me decide the price?"_ Oh please start bartering with me._

Volt let out a small laugh, shaking his head. "No can do babe. This is [premo] information, I won't be parting it for any less than say. . . 1,200 credits." His greed was written plain as day on his face. "Of course, there are _other _ways you could pay me too." His hand crept along towards Argo's arm.

Argo's eyes closed as her grin turned toothy. Bad mistake kid. "I do love a good haggle, [_baby_]." She navigated her menu quickly, before a window appeared publicly, which she swiped at, causing it to move in a circle towards Volt. "How about you tell me for free – and I don't release this to your bosses, hm?"

Volt's brow broke out into a sweat, his previous feigned charisma gone as the video that played showed a bird's eye view of him chatting with another ‹‹Frontman›› in the large buisness plaza in front of the government building in Glocken. His recorded self handed over a USB, specifically a USB containing all the info of the ‹‹Slum Lords›› weapons caches. "H-How did you. . .?"

Argo's grin grew even wider – checkmate. "Don't worry about the hows Voltron. Now how about that info?" It wasn't much of a secret what the ‹‹Slum Lords›› did to people who betrayed them. Out of all the criminal groups in Glocken, they were one of the few that openly murdered other players. "It doesn't really take too much of a stretch of imagination for what might happen should they see this, _right_?"

Volt looked at her, eyes wide and jaw shaking. He turned towards his drink and slammed it in one go, the ice ball hitting his nose and then falling into the glass with a loud clink. "Fine." He muttered, looking towards the girl's smile that was anything other than pleasant. "Something big is going down in the Slums. A power grab."

Argo raised her eyebrow. "That's not new. You're all trying to one up each other all the time." As much as she hated to admit it, if they killed each other it would make it a safer place for the majority of the population who were actually trying to survive this game and find a way out without killing anyone.

Volt shook his head. "Normally, you'd be right. But this isn't a fight between the gangs – they're going for Glocken. More specifically, the players."

"But that's impossible. Glocken is a safe zone." Argo stated, the idea of those scummy bastards trying to get their tendrils up here – regardless of possibility – didn't sit well. Something clicked to her, making her business face snap into shock. "You don't mean –?"

Volt nodded, "They're organizing raids in the leveling areas outside of Glocken. They plan on thinning out as many players as they can or preventing them from leveling before the Ballad of Bullets."

"What?!" Argo's shout was unnoticed over the loud, heavy beat of the music, but Volt jumped from it. Just how the hell had such news not floated up from the Slums? It was true she'd been keeping out of there due to Kirito's wishes, but even still.

"There's a new boss – King. I'm sure you've had to of heard of him?"

King, she did know. A powerhouse of a character that pumped his ‹‹STR›› high enough to use the most massive guns he could get his hands on. His signature piece was an ‹‹XM214 Minigun››, a monster of a weapon made with six rotating steel barrels that fired a storm of 5.56mm x 45mm ammunition capable of firing up to 4,000rpm. No one knew where he got such a powerful weapon, but he had made his debut by demolishing a small gang and their hide out in less than a minute solo, using that insane weapon.

He leads a group of players called ‹‹Ravenhawk›› calling them a gang wasn't the right word, more like a cutthroat Private Military Company. They were all trained to a high standard, to an almost professional level, giving her the impression that either King was military or he had an instructor who was. She'd heard rumors that they even had a base out in the ‹‹Sea of Sand›› but there wasn't any information to prove that claim. "How the hell did that nut job manage to ring all the gangs together?"

"Fear. The muscle bound bastard has been going around and making examples of anyone who won't bow to him. He's better armed than the rest of us and not to mention that he's actually smarter than I'd give him credit for. When the ‹‹Hellknights›› were killed, he took credit for it – saying he'd both cleared the first floor _and _wiped out the ‹‹Hellknights›› that were trying to gank him, all solo! It all but removed the doubts others had, even if the rumors that ‹‹The Black Swordsman›› had been true!"

Argo noticed the teen shivering in his adult avatar, just before looking towards her. "C'mon ‹‹Rat››, I told you what you want, now give me the video." There was a real terror in his voice, something that piqued her interest.

"Why should I?"

"Why?!" his demeanor changed as he slammed his hand down and stood, not causing Argo to flinch in the slightest. "Because if I don't get that tape I'm. . ." his words died into a stutter before succumbing to silence.

A smirk popped on her face. "That tape. . . you were selling out your gang to King's ‹‹Ravenhawk››, weren't you?" She hadn't even been the one to take the tape, a hacker associate of hers had known about her dealings with the various ‹‹Frontmen›› and gave her the blackmail in exchange for a pardon on a favor he owed her.

Volt's face froze in horror as he shot to Argo, his hand going to cover her mouth, but she sidestepped him with the ease of a gust of wind. He tripped and stumbled over her stool, landing face first into another player who had been schmoozing up on onto a brunette. "Hey! Watch it asshole!"

Argo gave an apologetic smile, "Sorry, sorry! He's just had a bit too much to drink, forgive him for me!" She pulled him back by his collar, rather funny sight to see for a short girl to do to a much taller man. "There, there." she spoke, dusting his shoulders and arms off.

The player he'd bumped into shot a glare towards the still frightened face and grumbled out an "It better not happen again," before turning back towards his hopeful chances.

Volt turned towards the small girl who still had a triumphant smile on her face. "A-Argo –"

"[It's okay _baby_]! I won't be handing this over and thereby ensuring your demise and end as a scummy gangster," She paused as he watched him sigh, her grin turning large and toothy again, before putting touching her finger to her thumb and spreading the remaining fingers – the universal sign for money. "At least, not if you got the right price."

* * *

><p>Now 1,200 credits richer, Argo found herself on the inner city train that was headed for the ‹‹Business District›› in the center of Glocken, the richest and yet poorest district in Glocken that held all of the top organizations. It was basically where players were allowed to set up offices for their guildssquads to advertise their services. They mingled alongside NPC business, with the Fuller Corporation and the Yokohama Universal Industries towers looming in the center of the district like steel obelisks that proved their superiority above all.

She'd tried to give a call to the GMPF, which barely sounded better than the actual organization's name, the ‹‹Glocken Mercenary Police Force››. The self-explanatory group had formed around a month after launch, but hadn't picked up too much steam due to the nature of the hundreds of smaller groups in Glocken that didn't like the idea of answering to a larger group. But, as slow as their progress was, Argo believed in their willingness to keep order among the players of Glocken and they were still a force to be reckoned with.

She'd already tried the leader's, Sentinel Blue, personal cellphone but didn't get an answer. She might be outside of Glocken, where the cellphone reception quickly died out and thus radio communication was necessary. She was the type who didn't let her men do all the work, instead constantly out in the field fighting the injustices she felt were there.

It didn't matter much, this wasn't something she wanted to talk about over the phone anyways. This was one of those rare occurrences where the info didn't have a price tag on it, especially when it concerned innocent lives. If anyone could at least have a half decent attempt at providing a defense against ‹‹Ravenhawk›› and a united criminal front, it would be them.

The midnight train was quiet, the occasional glow of neon advertisement lighting up the dimmed lighting of the train from the windows. She was one of the only players on board. A few NPCs were on too, but they all were buried in their own programming, a book or phone crammed in their faces. She was glad for it, after being in that horrid bar she could use some real peace and quiet.

Her eyes glanced again to her PM notifications. Still nothing. She reached up, pulling her hood further down over her eyes. She couldn't help but notice the twisting and gnawing feeling in her heart that she felt, like she'd never . . . no. She wasn't going to start thinking like that. Kii-bou was invincible, he wouldn't leave her alone in this place. She just had to believe that. She'd just have to make his scrawny butt pay for causing her all this grief by chasing after another woman when he had such a prize right there in front of him! She wouldn't give him any quarter in their next spar.

Burying herself back into managing her PMs, she barely noted the occasional shake and spark from the train's magnetic rails as it plunged deeper into the city.

* * *

><p>A cloud of smoke escaped a pair of dry lips as Dyne blew out the puff from his cigarette with a frustrated sound. He took the cigarette out and flicked it once, looking straight up from where the morning sun colored the visible sky above him a pale blue through the massive rocky hole. He couldn't help but grumble as he traced the long shaft that led down to where he stood atop a large hill of sand. The shaft expanded into a dome like shape at the bottom, like something had once slept here and then broke through the rock to emerge above ground.<p>

It was amazing to think that this was once a giant whirlpool of sand. It made him wonder if the stories of the ‹‹Sea of Sand›› actually having currents due to the wind was right, or if it had just been some event. It was the only explanation he could think of for there being a raging torrent of sand one minute and it soon disappeared after they were drug underneath. If it hadn't they'd have certainly been suffocated by the sand.

Taking another drag, he glanced over at the still sleeping Klein and Ginrou who were at the base of the hill, against the rock wall. Numerous tunnels lined the circular dome, many of them flooded with sand. The only part that was different was the southern wall; It was steel and a single reinforced door that was split down the middle with a vertical Z, presumably where it opened, with yellow and black striped painted near the split. A small keypad jutted from the wall next to it. Ginrou had spent the better part of the night attempting to hack it but had eventually been locked out by the security system much to the man's displeasure.

In his own words, the "piece of shit doesn't know to open when it should", which in Ginrou's tongue loosely meant: I'm not high enough level to do this efficiently and I'm not admitting it.

Looking at Klein, the multiple bandages he'd been sporting from his failed attempts at climbing the shaft had disappeared. Dyne sighed, the only other option they really had now was to either find someway to blow open the damn security door or try their luck in the tunnels. Of course not a single one of them had a damn flashlight,the one he'd packed in the car had broke from the fall. They did have Ginrou's goggles that had a night vision function, but the idea of having him lead them around in the dark while they held onto the man didn't sit well with any of them.

Dyne turned his attention to the ‹‹Remington M24›› that had been sticking out of the sand pile when they came to. His eyes softened as he felt the worry that had robbed him of a decent sleep come back to him. He shook his head, it was going to be alright, he told himself. That kid – Kirito? – might be with her, they would be fine. It took twenty four hours for a body to despawn, they would have seen it. He tried not to think of what would have happened had they been spirited away down the dark tunnels. If they didn't have any light. . .

Dyne spit out his cigarette, finding the taste bitter to him. He looked over at his totaled car, upside down with it's trunk spilled open, bullets and weeks worth of ‹‹MRE››s scattered about behind it. All those credits, gone in flash due to some _stupid goddamn worm_. Dyne couldn't help but grind his teeth as he pressed a closed fist against the bridge of his nose.

"Alright you two, wake up!" Dyne roared out, his anger at his fallen car coloring his tone. "We got light again!" He stared at the two happy looking men who were enjoying something he'd been denied. "Hello! Klein, Ginrou! _Wake up!_" Seeing his calls weren't reaching either, he spat out a curse. Grumbling, he slid down the hill holding onto his hat, his eyes locked onto the Sleeping Beauties.

"Hehe. . . Oh Sinon . . . I never knew. . ." Ginrou giggled in his sleep as a lecherous blush and smile spread across his face. His hands were roaming around the sand and groping at imagined places.

He stopped just a few inches short of their faces as he crouched down, holding a particular ire for Ginrou as he felt his blood pressure rising. "Klein, Ginrou, I'm quite sorry to wake you from slumber sweet, but," He started out, his restraint wavering, "if you two would be so kind as to _wake the hell up it would be appreciated!" _He all but screamed into their ears.

Both men shot up with startled screams, slamming their heads into each other. They both held their heads in pain as they rolled back and forth each yelling incoherently in confusion.

"Owww! What the hell?!" Klein's voice broke above Ginrou's as he stared up at Dyne.

"Uaahh. . ." Ginrou whined as he sat up, a large red mark sporting on his forehead. "Why did you have to wake me up? I was almost to the good part!"

"That's exactly why I woke you up." Dyne growled, glaring at the hacker with a tinge of disgust. If he didn't need his hacking skills . . . he let out a disgruntled sigh, remembering to count backwards from ten. "It's morning. Get up and keep looking for a way out of this damn place. I still can't contact anyone from outside and Sinon hasn't shown up. That means we're on our own."

At the mention of their missing female teammate, they both stopped mumbling out complaints and stood. He dusted himself off and put his head skyward again. "So, I guess it's back to what I was trying yesterday."

Ginrou put on his goggles, "I'll try the door again." He stretched as he moved, kinks getting cracked out as he walked.

Dyne had to admit, they both got down to business if they were serious, especially when it concerned a teammate. He placed his hand on Klein's shoulder, stopping the young man as he headed for the rock wall. "Don't. It was enough of a drain on our supplies yesterday with you trying that. We just need to find another way."

Klein's cheeks flushed as he he looked away. The pain and marks may have faded but his ass still held a phantom pain. "I know. . . I just can't stand doing nothing!" He cursed as he looked towards one of the dark caves. "If only we could go in there! I know she's down there somewhere." The only reason they hadn't was because of the car, it had been jammed up against one of the holes and they'd found themselves caught on it.

Sinon's rifle stood proud in the mound of sand and Klein couldn't help but draw parallels to it's owner. Twice now, he'd been forced to do nothing while she was in danger. Twice now he'd been forced to confront how much she meant to him. It drove him insane he could do nothing to help her. He lashed out at the sand, kicking the sand hill.

Dyne watched him with an even look. The younger man reminded him of a much younger version of himself twenty years past, still green on the force and full of passion for justice and his eye on the most beautiful waitress he'd ever seen with a fire in her words to match. He closed his eyes, feeling the hole in his heart ache. _N__ot now, this isn't the time to go down that road. _"Klein, let's get Ginrou. Looks like it's time to go into the tunnels."

Klein turned, his face set into a heavy frown. "Are you sure?" His lack of weapons didn't sit well with him. He had a combat knife that Dyne had given him and he_ could_ use Sinon's rifle. He didn't have much practice with a rifle though and it felt sacrilegious to him to touch it as he beheld it's shape. In Bushido, it was believed the weapon was the true soul of the warrior, he couldn't just use hers that easily. Besides, the last time he'd tried she almost clawed his eyes out for scratching the finish on the stock.

"We don't have much else of a choice. If we can't get through that door then –" as Dyne pointed with his chin, towards where Ginrou had left, he trailed off as he saw the hacker meddling with wires underneath the keypad. The aged detective watched with curiosity and then his jaw dropped as a low _hiss _sound broke the silence of the morning and was shortly followed by a victory cheer from Ginrou as the metal doors slid open.

"How the hell?!"

Ginrou spun around with a large grin on his face, looking at Dyne. "Impressed? I didn't want to do it this way, but in the end we didn't have a choice. Really, it's the developers fault for not adding a timed lock out retry feature like in Deus Ex. They had to go Fallout with it but –" He was stopped by a hand on his head.

"Ginrou. Are you telling me you could have done this last night?" Dyne spoke, his voice oddly even for his usual disposition. Klein backed away a few steps.

Ginrou scoffed, "Of course, it's something _anyone _could do, well to varying degrees – but hacking it grants EXP and is far more sophisticated and less dangerous! Seriously, there's like a ten percent chance to get like I was saying, I tried to quit out of it and retry like in Fallout but _nooo_, they had to go and make it record the number of hacking attempts. Shoddy game developing in my opinion, why, how else can we – _urk!" _A hard pressure on his skull stopped his ranting and dropped his HP by two points.

"_Just. Shut. Up_." Dyne hoisted the hacker to his feet, working on using every last ounce of his self control to not crack his skull in. Letting the idiot go, he turned to Klein, "Grab some supplies. It's time we explore in here and see what's to be found – and don't forget to grab Sinon's rifle." As he heard Klein replying to him, tuning out Ginrou's complaints, he stared into the open door way. A small decompression room was within, and lights were on. So that meant power was still available within. Cracking his neck, he walked over to where he slept by the car the night before and picked up his ‹‹FAMAS››.

Whatever awaited them within worried him. His stomach was tingling in the fashion it enjoyed to do at certain moments. He checked his cigarette box, one was left. Damn, his cure was almost dry. With a huff, he stuffed it back into his coat. He'd just have to save it for a victory smoke.

* * *

><p>"What is it?"<p>

Sinon stepped forward, her eyes scanning the punctured steel wall in front of them, the same size as the man sized tunnel. Kirito's light only illuminated a few feet into the hole, but it looked like an actual structure. The metal was bent inwards, meaning that whatever did it came from their side. "It's obviously man made, this might be a way out."

Kirito raised his Beretta, leaving his sword sheathed, stepping closer to the corner of the broken wall. "I'll take point. We don't know what's going to be inside here." He heard her walk behind him, the soft click of her Glock's safety being released. He nodded once, taking a deep breath.

He popped around the corner and swept the room. His eyes strained against the edges of the light where he was most worried of something hiding. The room before them was some type of large sleeping area, rows of bunk beds with rotted linens lining either side of the elongated room. A single destroyed steel bed lay gnarled and tangled a foot from the hole. He edged around the corner, making sure to do as he was taught. Clear.

He moved forward and immediately jumped with a shout as his foot brushed up against something. He hopped back back and pointed down with his weapon finger already curled around the trigger. He stopped short of pulling it as he saw what he touched.

"Kirito?!" Sinon stepped closer and her face crinkled as she saw what was laying up against the wall. "Is that. . . supposed to be a human?" A lone skeleton, it's flesh long since rotted away, was clothed only by a tattered lab coat, stained with blood centuries old. Clothing underneath was the same rotted color and stuck to the bones of the unfortunate soul. The most distinguishing feature, however, was it's lack of a lower torso.

Kirito knelt down, grimacing as he started fishing through the pockets of the coat.

"Kirito! That's so gross, why –?" She stopped herself, "Right, he might have an item we need."

He nodded, a small smile hidden from her, though it was tainted from the disgusting feeling simulated against his fingertips. "If this is a dungeon like I think it is then – aha." He pulled out what looked to be some kind of ID card. He flipped over the dusted item, using his thumb to rub off the picture of a female in her late thirties, a messy bun of brown hair held away from an already wrinkled face. Next to the picture was written in large font in English, _Dr. Jane Thomas __Level Three Clearance. _"I might find a key." He wiped it off once, before stuffing it into his own pocket. "I could have done without the heart attack though."

"Maybe if you paid closer attention," Sinon smirked.

"Ha. Ha. Funny." He made sure to check the floor as he passed each bunk. He believed in the old Chinese proverb and GGO wasn't going to make a fool out of him. It was clear, save for the debris that littered the floor. At the end of the long room, a set of thin lockers lined the wall, along with a two desks that were across from each other on either wall. A closed door broke the line of lockers. Kirito nodded to himself, and relaxed his stance. "Sinon, check the lockers. I'm going to see if there's anything on the desks."

"Roger." She went to the furthest locker on the left, testing to see if it was open – it was. A light illuminated her back, and she turned to see Kirito had placed his clip on light onto the desk pointing towards her. She smiled before turning to comb through the first locker.

Kirito's eyebrow raised as he saw the disarray the desk was in. Scattered papers littered the top of the old blue steel desk. Old coffee cups with caked in coffee were present, along with a variety of office goods. It was odd to see so much paper, it didn't even exist in this game's time line due to information recording turned electronic due to the lack of trees with humanities ascent into space. A smooth corner of plastic jutting out from under the paper caught his attention as he cleared them away. It was a laptop, and one that Kirito actually recognized as a brand from reality.

_Interesting. _He pulled open the dusty electronic device, pressing the power button. Nothing; it was a long shot but figured he'd give it a try. A particularly loud clang made him snap his head towards Sinon, his heart beating a mile a minute, the sound came from a locked locker that she pried open with her knife. Turning his head back with an exhale as he closed the laptop back up, another object caught his eye. A leather bound book sat at the back corner of the desk. It was out of place to be certain, it has to be something key.

Pulling out the old squeaking rolling chair that was tucked into the desk, he grabbed the book gently and sat down. It had two leather straps that tied it closed. Undoing them gently, he opened the first page and was met with some surprise as the book was written in English. He waited for it to perhaps show him a dialogue box so that it would be translated but there was none. Between this and Miller he was glad that he was somewhat fluent in English, which he'd taken an interest in so he could communicate easier with other gamers and eventually game developers when he became one.

Reading the first page, he was surprised to see the heading.

_Jane Thomas, May 21st, 2029_

Looking over to where the skeleton was, he felt his curiosity grow, as it always did when dungeons began dropping hints to the lore behind it. _This place existed before the Nuclear War that devastated the Earth in 2030. This place, and book, is over seven hundred years old. Mr. Journal, you had my curiosity, but now you have my attention. _

"Sinon, I found a book. It looks like it might contain lore about this dungeon. Want me to read it out loud?" The girl gave a solid nod, intrigued herself. Kirito gave a smile before burying his nose into it and reading out loud, though it was a bit slow as he had to translate.

_The chance I've been waiting for has finally shown itself. Working so hard under that sleazebag Dr. Herschberg has finally paid off. One of his colleagues, Dr. Solomon, had watched me furiously work on Herschberg's "baby" project of curing things like the common cold. I would never call such work meaningless, but I envisioned myself tacking greater threats to humanity with my doctorate in bioengineering and virology. I had always dreamed of being the one to finally eliminate something like AIDS. _

_Now, I might just have that chance. Dr. Solomon said that a woman like me shouldn't be slaving away as a research assistant when I could be leading a task force in Germany on the development on a pathogen meant to actually seek out and eliminate other viruses! I accepted right away and quit that evening. If only I had a camera to record what that idiot Herschberg looked like when I told him I'd been chosen instead of him! _

_June 4th, 2029_

_I can see now why people have always said Europe has a magical feeling to it, it's nothing like America. I've never traveled abroad before but I have to admit it's quite lovely here. There's a little village we passed on the way to the laboratory. It's such a quaint little place that looks as if it was taken straight from a picture book. I didn't think villages in Europe actually looked like that. _

_I have to admit I was a bit frightened when I saw armed guards in full armor standing outside the gates, but Dr. Solomon promised me it was just for our own safety. I'll only ever admit here that he's really a stud. The way he smiles at me just – _

"Yeah okay, I am _not_ reading the rest of that." Kirito blanched before skipping ahead a few lines.

_The facility itself was the definition of high tech. Everything was made from stainless steel and the doors looked like they were out of a sci-fi novel. Every door requires clearance key cards, some even bio-scanners and to my surprise I was granted a level three clearance! That's just under Dr. Solomon's! _

_When I was first introduced to my team, I have to admit I was nervous. It was a multicultural team, comprised of the best and brightest from around the world. Am I really ready for something like this? _

_Even though I say that, I know I am. I'm going to be the woman a little girl reads about one hundred years from now as the scientist who developed the Panacea. _

Sinon had stopped her locker searching by the middle of the second entry, too intrigued by the reading to continue, choosing to instead sit against the desk behind Kirito. She was surprised at his level of English comprehension, it was probably the same as hers. His translation was a bit off at times, but that came with the territory. "Panacea?" She asked, the term sounded vaguely familiar.

Kirito took a break, nodding at her. "It's a famous term used in games for a cure-all potion like an Elixir, though it's origins I think come from some countries God or another. I'm not really sure."

"Oh, Panacea!" At his blank stare she continued. "Panacea was a Greek goddess who was said to carry a potion to cure any ailment."

"I see. So that's where it comes from." Kirito turned back to the journal. "I wonder how many other cliches they might use. Wanna count?"

_June 7th, 2029_

_Today was. . . odd. After spending two exciting days getting to know my team and dive straight into the first stages of our work, we all decided to take some personal time to enjoy a nice lunch in the little village we passed. Charles was from the area and told us about this wonderful little cafe called Von Iver, he swore it was to die for. When we tried to leave however, we had been stopped by the security. They were polite, until Charles decided that he wasn't going to listen to them. _

_I've never actually been close to a fight before, save for a few I watched from a distance in high school, so when I saw them strike him with the butt of their assault rifles I was in shock – we all were. I took him back to his bunk in our living quarters and did what I could to fix his nose but, the damage was pretty bad. I filed a complaint with Dr. Solomon right after, but I never heard back from him. _

_June 15th, 2029_

_Work has been continuing at a steady pace, with the combination of our scientific knowledge and cutting edge technology that I doubt the scientific community as a whole knows exists we've made leaps in progress unlike anything I've ever known. Everyone here has brought such amazing work to the table. It helps that I've stepped in mid-project where the ground work has been more or less laid out._

_Panacea is an amazing virus. It's indiscriminate, attacking every cell it can come into contact with, fusing with it and destroying anything other than itself and yet doesn't harm the host. Furthermore, as it remains with the host cell, it fights off any other bacteria or virus that comes into contact with it. Not only is it a cure-all, it defends a person! It's far from perfect, only working within 40% of the animals we've tested it on. If it doesn't fuse properly it's either ineffective – or worse, it just kills rather than fuses and the subject is killed within minutes. _

_The others share only part of my enthusiasm. I've had to reprimand them more than once for getting off track, chatting about what happened to Charles. The head of the security came down and personally apologized, but explained that it's necessary to ensure that no trace elements of the virus escapes the lab or any corporate spies get in or out. They would deliver food from the town for us, but that was all. We couldn't leave until Panacea was finished. _

_You would think that would motivate them, but it only served to scare them. Well, it's of little consequence. I've always felt more at home in an environment like this anyways. _

_July 3rd, 2029_

_I've hit a wall. _

_No matter what we try, we can't push the success rate beyond 53% and the fatality rate on a failed vaccination is 70%. At the current stage over half the human population would be eradicated. No matter, we'll keep trying, we just need to look at this from a different angle. _

_My team has once again fallen into muttering about this and that. They grow increasingly dissatisfied with the work conditions, especially the odd boxes that have been getting shipped in from what someone told me was Yokohama Universal Industries, the same company that has supplied us our equipment, with the markings for containing livestock. _

_It's an odd company that was originally Japanese but has since become one of the largest national corporations. It has it's fingers in just about everything. Construction, Transportation, Military, even Pharmaceuticals. The list goes on and on. If they're the ones supplying me with this amazing technology I couldn't care less what was in those boxes. _

_I also got to finally meet Dr. Solomon again! I was so embarrassed when he made a surprise visit to the lab. I hadn't showered in days and my hair was a mess. He complimented all of us on our stellar work. Oh, if only I could work up the courage to ask him out to dinner. Maybe after all this is over I'll break out that little black number I brought with. _

_July 10th, 2029_

_Today, under the supervision of Dr. Solomon and a group of security that looked like something out of a sci-fi novel, we found out what was in those crates. _

_Live humans. _

_My team immediately raised the largest ruckus I'd ever heard. I still remember the look on Dr. Solomon's eyes as he raised his hand to silence everyone. He was so calm, so collected. He explained to us that these men were on death row and infected with deadly diseases. They were going to die someday, either by the government or affliction they suffered so it mattered little if they lived or died. _

_His pragmatism was something all men of science should aspire to and I of course agreed wholeheartedly, which granted me a smile. He explained to my team that if they had a problem with it, they could leave the project. To my faint surprise, Charles along with Lamar and Alice asked to be let go. They were some of the weaker links in our group so I wasn't too sad to see them go. They were promptly escorted out by security and I haven't seen them since. _

_By the end of the day, three of the subjects survived the immunization. The other seven perished. It was good information, it seemed the virus had a lower success rate in humans. _

_July 11th, 2029_

_I don't even know where to begin with today. Cleo is dead. _

_Just thinking about it turns my stomach. But I must record it. _

_Today, we were doing tests on the prisoners who survived the immunization, taking blood samples to see if everything was still going smoothly. Then, the subject began to spasm wildly, as if he was under the effects of a seizure. Secruity rushed in to restrain the patient, but he broke free from his restraints like they were nothing more than paper and killed the guards. Cleo tried to run but that -thing- grabbed her and tore her apart. The heavily armed security came in soon after and killed it, but it didn't die until after almost two full magazines had been emptied into it._

_I've never seen anything so horrifying before. What could have caused such an inhuman change in the patient? _

_And if only that had been the only tragedy, I would have been thankful. Abraham had been so overcome with regret and fear that he smashed a jar containing the virus onto the floor, screaming that what we had created was an abomination onto his Almighty God. Thankfully the virus isn't airborne, but was still terrifying to think that the virus was free from a controlled area. _

_We were able to decontaminate the lab, but a decent portion of the virus may have escaped into the drains we have set up throughout the lab. Dr. Solomon assures me that the quarantine team will ensure it doesn't survive in the drains and that any waste that does pass through is safely deposited within sealed containers underground. At least we avoided an outbreak. _

_Abraham was taken by security, it was for the best. A man of God was not someone we can have on a team like this. _

_July 12th 2029_

_Someone has tampered with Panacea. I confirmed this with my own two eyes after running extensive tests on it. This wasn't the virus that my team and I had built. Panacea was supposed to stop at taking over the cells and defending them from other pathogens. _

_Now it's actually -controlling- the cells and somehow coordinating with the other Panacea virus cells to make them manipulate the host. They can even do this in a dead body, the prisoners that perished had reportedly come alive! Not only that, but it appears that with their control over the cell structure they can warp or change the body through radical changes that mutates them into something horrifying. This goes beyond my understanding. _

_I don't understand how that's possible. It's a fact that viruses are in fact a type of life form due to it carrying genetic material, the ability to reproduce and it evolves through natural selection. But they are incapable of anything close to what we know is life, incapable of acting outside of their programming, if you will. So then how do they make the host stronger, faster, and remove it of all sentient will beyond what the virus directs it to? _

_It doesn't help at all that there have been tremors since yesterday and they've been growing stronger. Dr. Solomon ensures me it's just small tremors from an earthquake but I don't buy it. I don't have time to worry about that now. I need to go back to lab – figure out what the hell happened._

_This is no longer Panacea, this is Hades. _

"Hmm. There's no date on this next part, looks like it was written with haste." Kirito announced, absorbed into the text.

_I don't believe it. Nanomachines. Someone implanted them into my virus and they're capable of replicating just like Panacea. They're what's been directing the virus. Who would do this?! They can't be operating on their own, they were created by someone but for what purpose?! _

_I need to confront Dr. Solomon right away, he's the only one outside of my team with the clearance required to enter the labs. If he's somehow involved with this, then this will be the only record of it, I'm sure._

The journal ended there. Kirito closed shut the journal and put it down. "That was rather interesting."

Sinon looked towards him, her arms crossed from where she sat against the desk. "Interesting? This place sounded horrible."

"True, but if you were paying attention we've managed to stumble head first into the birthing ground of the biological weapon that created all the monsters in GGO." He waited for a moment to see if she said anything – she didn't. "Which means this place has gotta be loaded with some solid loot!"

"That might also mean this place is full of strong monsters too." It was a common enough theme she saw repeated in GGO. Areas that were just minor to explore tended to have weaker enemies. But a scientific laboratory where a weapon that wiped out half of mankind was created would be certain to have dangers she probably never faced before.

Kirito nodded, reminding himself he wasn't soloing he had to keep an eye out for someone else. "In theory we shouldn't run into anything we'd need more than a small group for. This game is primarily a PvP game, with the bulk of it's group PvE in the labyrinth under Glocken. But don't worry – I'll keep you safe even if it turns out to be something big." He gave her a wink and a thumbs up.

"Heh," She laughed, "as long it's not a skeleton we shouldn't have a problem."

Kirito blushed and stood, ignoring the grin on her face. "Forget about that already will you?"

"Nope." She couldn't help but grin at the reaction she got from him.

Scratching his head, he looked down towards the journal. "Anyways! We should try and find the security office first." Seeing her questioning gaze he pointed towards the book with his nose. "You know, not all lore is just fluff. It can contain hints to the area you're in or even passwords and stuff, pretty standard RPG stuff. It mentioned there was some security that was packing military grade equipment, or suggested it I should say. Our pistols are going to be okay for now, but if we run into mutants that take two full rifle magazines to down, 9mms aren't going to do much I imagine."

Sinon was impressed, she hadn't thought that much into the journal, but it made perfect sense. "You must really know a lot about role playing games."

Kirito puffed out his chest, hitting it with his fist. "I'll have you know it's all types of games. Not only do I have the speedrun record for Final Fantasy XX, I also have yet to be defeated at all the fighting games at the arcade."

Sinon bit her lip as a small snort left her, the only hint that she tried to hide a laugh.

"What?" Kirito protested, looking almost insulted.

"Nothing, I've just never seen anyone look so proud about themselves concerning holding a title on a game." She waited a moment, before loosing her self-control, "Dork."

"Well this _dork _is gonna make sure we get outta here safe and sound. Let's finish checking all the lockers, might find something worthwhile." He pulled out his shortsword, heading to the nearest locker that hadn't been opened. Sinon followed suit, going back to checking the locker she hadn't fully searched before stopping for the story.

Besides making too much noise for his comfort, Kirito found nothing of note. The developers had actually been rather detailed with the lockers, pictures of the scientists families had been included and they looked rather real. Maybe they were some of the American developers families? At the last locker however, there was a rather nice pin up of a curvy Asian beauty with shoulder length black hair, her eyes a hazel brown, and she wore the smallest white bikini he'd seen in a while with a most impressive set of –

"Kirito, find anything?"

Kirito slammed the locker shut, his face red. "Nope! You?"

Sinon raised her eyebrow, but decided against asking any questions. "No, beyond a few pictures and some dirty clothes."

"Alright, I'm not too surprised. Guess we won't find random ammo boxes in containers." Looking towards the closed door he felt his mood somber some. Back into unexplored territory. Grabbing his flashlight, he clipped it back onto his harness. "Alright, let's head out – same formation as last time." Heading to the door, he saw it was electronically controlled. It would be a long shot but just maybe – he pressed the door open button, with a small hiss it slid open. _Must be some sort of emergency power, __odd the lights aren't on then__. Must be a hell of a generator to stay on for almost seven hundred years, __if that's even the case__. __Could just be video game logic. _

The outside hallway made him stop for a moment with worry. Across from the door was a steel wall, scarred with a single massive claw mark, three slashes indicating three fingers, dried blood rusting the wound. He stepped closer, making sure to clear left and right, the sounds of the steel floor echoing through the long hallway. He reached out, tracing the claw marks with his fingers. It was almost two inches wide, and looked at least six inches deep. It was almost the same size as the claws the strange human abominations that had lurked the first floor of the labyrinth possessed.

Sinon traced the claw mark with her eyes, coming to the same conclusion as Kirito. Her hands ached for the weight of her Remington, this Glock wouldn't stop something like that. She saw at the base of the claw mark was another skeletal corpse, though it lie in a crumbled pile like it had been dismembered.

"Just stay close to me, Sinon." He watched her from the corner of his eye. At her nod, he lifted his gun again to turn, when the faintest sound of gunfire echoed through the dark hall. "Was that –?!" Kirito hissed out, looking around. A small tremor of an explosion was felt more than heard, putting them even further on edge.

Sinon strained her hearing, the sounds of the gunfire so dim it was only able to be heard thanks to the dead silence of the hall. "It sounds like it's coming from above us," she continued to listen, until a single muffled _crack _made her eyes widen. "That's my Remington! I'm sure of it!" She took two steps forward before looking back towards Kirito. "Come on, it has to be the others!"

Kirito nodded, before starting to hustle down the hallway, the sounds of gunfire continuing to echo and grow stronger as they ran.

* * *

><p>Klein cursed as he slammed back around the corner of the cross shaped intersection, a hail of automatic fire chewing up the solid steel corner causing sparks and tiny shards of steel to hit his face. The thunderous roar of the multiple ‹‹Scar-H›› battle rifles drowned out anything else in the enclosed hallways as the 7.62x51mm shells swarmed through it, seeking their targets.<p>

"Goddmmit! Klein, we can't let them pin us down!" Dyne screamed, his voice barely audible through the din of the muzzle report. He cursed, the words lost in the sounds akin to a metal bee swarm as he blind fired a burst from his ‹‹FAMAS››.

"That's easy for you to say!" Klein shouted back as he tried to tried to take a quick peek at their attackers, his ears ringing from the shot that almost hit his head. That last grenade lob had almost done them in, if it had been even a foot more towards the center of the intersection, he wouldn't have been able to kick it back. He snapped his head back before they could fire at him.

The grenade did nothing, beyond almost making him deaf with the massive echo, they had some kind of deployed cover from the looks of it. Made from some weird material that withstood the force of their rounds and the grenade. He snapped his head across the hallway, where Dyne continued to fire to try and keep them pinned while Ginrou was furiously hacking at a locked door behind them. He had an open hallway behind him he could retreat from, but if they got pushed back the other two would –

"_Klein! Get your damn head out of your ass and return fire!_"

The Samurai shook his head, pulling the bolt back to eject the spent cartridge and loading a new round into the now scopeless ‹‹Remington M24›› before popping around the corner again, taking aim as fast he could, firing at one of the armored soldiers. A loud _clink _sound echoed through as the 7.62 smashed through the metal face plate and blood spouted from it as the soldier collapsed.

Klein spun back into cover just as an angry shout was heard, a bullet soaring past his face close enough that he heard the bullet cut through the air and hit the wall across from him. A small notification window appeared, showing him EXP gained. He felt relieved, before turning towards Dyne. "They're NPCs for sure!"

"I'm glad your conscious can be free from having to kill something now! But that still doesn't change the fact that we're _fucked!" _Dyne popped around the cover and sprayed a line of bullets, making the NPC soldiers duck for cover. "Ginrou, tell me you have good news!" Another swarm of bullets slammed into the wall, sounding like hail striking a metal roof that echoed in his skull, making Dyne flinch away.

The hacker's brow was covered in sweat. "The level of encryption on this terminal is worse than the previous door! I've got some idea the pattern, but it's sixteen lines long! Whatever asshole designer made this freaking thing _sucks!_" He did his best to keep up with the mini-game that played out across his PDA, he wasn't going to let himself get beat by this program a second time!

"I'm just going to take that as a no because _I didn't hear a goddamn thing you said_!" Dyne replied, his voice raising to a yell as another wave of gunfire passed by. A bullet ricocheted off the corner in front of him to hit a few feet from his head, a shard of metal scratching his face. He cursed and blind-fired again until the last bit of his magazine ran dry. Ejecting it, he put it back into his coat and grimaced as he felt his last magazine in his pouch. "Goddammit!"

The suppressive fire stopped, as a massive roar overcame the sound of the firefight. ‹‹Black Dog›› all froze as the roar chilled them to their very bones. Muffled shouting from behind armored helmets sounded, and the sound of the ‹‹Scar-H›› sounded off again as massive footsteps hammered through the area, sounding as if a car was bouncing along.

Klein caught Dyne's look, and the redhead peeked one eye around the corner. All five remaining fighters were firing down the left side of the T intersection, One of them looking like he was barking orders. They had completely forgotten about them, but why –

A massive sickly pink figure appeared, a sound of steel cutting through the air sounded, and three of the soldiers disappeared in a spray of blood and gore as they were torn through like soft butter. Klein's eyes widened as he saw the lumbering nine foot behemoth that had to weigh near a ton due to the massive muscle it held. It looked like an exaggerated human, sexless and skinless to reveal it's grotesque muscle structure. It's right arm ended in long three foot blades, almost scraping against the floor, now coated with blood. They looked like it was perhaps bone, but glimmered like steel. It's other arm was normal enough, but still probably possessed enough strength to punch through steel. If the devil could take human shape, it would probably appear like this.

The remaining three continued to fire until their magazines ran dry, but the monster cared little, the 7.62mm nothing more than pebbles against it's hide. It's left hand shot out with a backhand with the force of a hydraulic piston and hit the closet soldier hard enough to deform it's head into a cresent shape as his neck snapped with a horrible _crack _and was sent flying into the wall, denting it with an explosion of blood splatter.

The other soldier screamed as it turned to flee, but the demon shot out with it's elongated right hand and skewered him through the waist, his visceral screams reverberating through the steel hall. The thing grabbed the soldier by his head, and in a simple pull, tore the top half of him from the bottom, flinging it across the hall the land with a sick thud right between Dyne and Klein, blood splattering as it's guts spilled out of it's exposed ribcage.

Klein stumbled back, only sheer terror keeping a scream at bay as his eyes focused with wild fear at the gruesome sight. One that _shouldn't exist_ within GGO. His stomach turned and Klein held back the urge to vomit, or at least the mental want to.

The only remaining survivor of the team, the one who Klein supposed was the commander, fled terrified from the massacre. ‹‹Black Dog›› remained perfectly still from behind their cover and out of sight. Ginrou's hacking attempt was forgotten as the mini-game had long since been lost. The hacker hadn't seen any of this, never turning around, but there wasn't a point, the sounds were enough to understand.

Klein swore the thing was looking at them, that it would forget the soldier and leap over the barricade and charge them. But in what was only two seconds of stillness, the beast let out another roar and kicked off the steel plated hallway to give chase after the prey that fled it.

Klein's heart hammered in his chest as he risked a fast peek around the corner, the sound of the beast dying away inside the compound. Besides a gore stained hallway and wall, they were alone. He quickly ran across the hall, sidestepping the severed corpse of the soldier, avoiding looking at it.

Dyne's eyes skimmed over the sight, used to such things, his own mind wondering why in the hell those enemies _bled. _Everything that could be fought or killed in this world only had damage marks. The only gore came from immortal objects that could be considered something that would always be there, and even then it was more or less benign. So why –

He clicked his tongue, now wasn't the time to be pondering mysteries when something like that was stalking the halls. "Ginrou, get that door open ASAP." He whispered, and then saw the hacker was frozen stiff. Klein was looking green in the face himself, he wasn't surprised, whatever sick bastard designed that was rather through in his detail. The damn blood was even steaming.

Blocking the hackers line of sight, he put a hand on the shaken boy's shoulder. "Hey, Ginrou, look at me." The younger man was still in shock, but managed to pick his head up. "Listen to me, that wasn't real. I know you play all sorts of games and have seen shit like that. It looks real, but that was just an NPC – a very fucked up NPC but that's all it is, okay?"

The eyes that could just be made out from behind the visor blinked, and Ginrou shook his head with a long breath. "T-That was . . . I never. . . I've seen pictures on the internet, but _that_ –"

"It was realistic, I know." He'd seen his fair share of mutilated corpses. "Get your head back into what you're good at, don't think about it." At the hackers nod, he looked towards Klein. "Keep your eye on Ginrou, I'm getting you a weapon." He ignored Klein's small protest, striding across the hall to where the cooling body of the soldier lay.

His mouth set into a grim line as he knelt by it, the ‹‹Scar-H›› still hanging by it's shoulder strap unharmed. Dyne pulled it off the body grimacing as the organs shifted from the movement. He tore his eyes from the sight and examined the gun. It was painted black, only a few scratches marring it's coat. The magazine was empty – no surprise there. With a heave, he rolled the half-body over, ignoring the squelching sound it produced, and saw that while the combat harness was cut, the magazines he had stuffed in the front pouches were undamaged. Picking one up, he grumbled, blood had gotten into it – no good for now. Three others were like that, unsurprising considering the wound, but two at least were dry.

A plethora of other items were still attached, including two ‹‹M67 Fragmentation Grenades››. He had a feeling they'd need these if that ugly bastard reared his head again. In fact, he could probably get some more from the others –

An echoing scream cut through the building, followed shortly by an inhuman roar.

"Never mind." Dyne mumbled before turning back around to Klein who had his back turned. "Here." He spoke, pushing the gun against the Samurai's chest.

Klein fumbled with it a moment, still in shock, and almost jumped when a loud error siren came from the gun. "What the -" He looked down in confusion, and saw a little LCD display just above the trigger that read _ID LOCK. _"Ah crap."

"The hell is an ID Lock?" Dyne growled as he stared at the insolent gun.

"It's a fairly new tech in reality, still in the testing phases for the military." Ginrou mumbled, as his fingers darted across his PDA, his tone subdued. "It's a system usually installed in the grip to read biometric data or an RFID signal so that only the registered user can fire the gun."

"You gotta be shittin' me." Dyne spoke, looking down the long hallway, swearing he heard a faint footstep.

"I can hack it later." Ginrou mused, his concentration starting to wane. "But only after – _fuck!" _The terminal lit up with red bars the words _LOCKED _across them. "Stupid peace of faulty tech!" He punched it, cracking the screen.

"Oi!_ Shh!_" Klein whisper-shouted, holding a finger to his mouth. He nervously glanced back down the hallway. "Just do what you did outside – and _be quiet!" _

Ginrou shook his head. "I can't, the area under the terminal is solid steel. Only reason I could do it out there was because there was a maintenance hatch. _Gah, _the realism was cool in this game, but now when our lives are on the line it –"

A hard footstep brought all their gazes behind them, where down the hallway Klein had been taking cover, roughly sixty feet away, the monstrous demon had it's pupiless stare on them.

Ginrou's eyes widened. "Oh fuck."

The thing roared with enough force to vibrate their bodies, as it began _sprinting. _

Dyne pulled up his ‹‹FAMAS›› aiming for the creature's massive head.

_Click! _

"Oh fuck!" He hadn't reloaded.

The thing was almost on them, having cleared twenty feet in almost three seconds. Klein dropped the ‹‹Scar-H›› as he scrambled for the Remington that still hung from his shoulder. Thirty feet away. He raised the gun, not really needing to aim. Twenty feet. _Crack! _The rifle shot went high and over it's shoulder. Fifteen feet.

Dyne's hand dropped to his side, where his ‹‹Mateba Autorevolver›› was holstered and drew it in a flash. _Pow! Pow! _The bullets didn't even make it flinch as they broke against it's skull.

A sound of doors sliding open alerted them all to movement behind them, and pure instinct driven by fear made them all run as a bestial roar followed them. ‹‹Black Dog›› threw themselves through the opening into the darkness of the hallway.

"The hell is that thing?!" A male voice shouted in surprise.

"Shut it now!" A woman screamed.

The doors closed just as the monster's claws were thrust forth. A loud _clang _sounded followed by a massive _thud_ as it felt like the very earth shook from the force of the things impact, the solid foot of steel able to withstand the blow.

The hallway they had thrown themselves into was slanted, and almost pitch black save for the single bright light that was coming from what Dyne guessed was a flashlight. "Sinon!?" The voice sounded just like her.

"Dyne!"

The older man sat up, about to say something more when he saw Sinon's face about six inches from his own, her slender hand on his shoulder with a concerned look on her face. He felt a small tick in his old hardened heart and gave a sarcastic smile. "What's with the long face?"

Sinon smiled, "I was worried about you, you old coot." At the annoyed look to the mention of his age she gave a grin.

Kirito kept his eyes on the door a moment more, hearing the protesting roars that came from behind it, but no more slamming. He glanced down to where Klein and Ginrou both were starting to sit up, groaning as they nursed what ever they landed on.

"Crap. . . that was way too close." Ginrou spoke, readjusting his goggles. "This game isn't fair, I'm telling ya." Looking over, remembering he heard a female voice, his face lit up with joy as he saw his missing crush. "Si -"

"Sinon!" Klein called out, looking towards the girl, his hand rubbing his backside where he'd landed on something hard. "Are you okay? How the hell did you get down here?"

Sinon gave him a small laugh, "That should be my question! You were the ones making all that noise and getting chased by something out of a nightmare! We fell down into some caves down below yesterday. We just found our way into here less than an hour ago."

Ginrou stared at Klein, his teeth about to start grinding when he caught Sinon looking straight at him. He suddenly felt like a deer in headlights, as the girl had the same simple smile on her face. "Ginrou, I'm glad you're okay too. I was worried about you all."

"I. . . I. . ." Ginrou started, his mind cranking out like rusted gears. His face steamed red as a small giggle escaped his lips, making Klein back away. _She was worried about me. Eheh, hehe, hehe! _

Klein waved his hand in front of the hackers face. "Oi, Ginrou? Yo, Earth to Ginrou, you home buddy?"

Kirito watched with a bitter smile on his face, he couldn't help but feel jealous of the group. He saw the happy smile on Sinon's face, as she looked between her teammates, wondering what it must be like to have that kind of connection with other people. The connection he'd only seen and never felt. Maybe if he had stayed with Klein that day – A low growl that cut through the closed door wiped the look from his face as he turned to look at the door, knowing the monster was right behind it still.

Looking back towards the others who had stood, he pointed with his thumb behind him. "So what's the story with the Resident Evil ripoff?" Everyone had broken from their happy talks at the sound of the grotesque thing's unpleasant growl of frustration.

Dyne stepped forward, giving Kirito a rather rough appraising look. "Let's swap stories somewhere else, we have a lot to catch up on and this isn't the best place to do it."

The weight of Dyne's look caught Kirito a bit off guard, he nodded hesitant, suddenly feeling like he was being sized up. "Alright, we passed what looked like a lounge on the way here. Follow me."

Dyne opened his mouth to argue but shut it, Kirito was the only one with a working light. A small nudge in his ribs made he look down towards Sinon, who held a serious look on her face.

"It's okay Dyne, he's a good guy, you can trust him." She spoke in a low tone looking towards Kirito as she spoke of him, the ghost of a smile on her face.

"Hmph." Dyne pushed down his cowboy hat, hiding the non-existent look of embarrassment that he could possibly hold. He watched the girl beside him with a hidden smile. How she reminded him of _her. _It probably explained why he felt like a father on prom night. "You need to stop getting lost with strange men."

"Compared to the company I usually keep I'd say I'm not doing too bad." She smirked at him.

"Keep talking girl, we'll see your tone change come next pay day." He looked back ahead and saw Klein had jumped ahead to stand next to Kirito, the two talking with smiles on their faces. Dyne snorted through his nose, if Klein and Sinon liked him, he might not be that bad of a guy.

* * *

><p>"Are you serious? Blood and <em>actual<em> gore?" Kirito asked, his brows knit together.

The small lounge was lit up by Kirito's flashlight, they still hadn't found any sort of other lighting yet. Dyne, Sinon, and Klein all sat on a long faded beige couch. To the right in a single seat, Ginrou sat, his focus on Klein who had stolen the middle seat between Dyne and Sinon. Kirito sat across the three on a beige love seat with a particular large hole in the backrest besides him, a coffee table separating the couches, his flashlight on top it.

Dyne nodded, a cigarette dangling between his lips. Screw a victory smoke, he needed a fix after all that shit. "It was as detailed as it was in reality, even had the physics right. Klein confirmed they were NPCs when he killed one too." He saw the look Sinon gave him and ignored it.

Kirito sat forward with his fingerless gloved hands interlocked, staring at the coffee table with a troubled expression. "That. . . is worrying."

Klein sat forward himself, his arms resting on his legs. "How is that even possible though? Why would everything else have a rather simple avatar system and now these things come out with such realistic features? That's not how it works."

"Not entirely true," Kirito looked up at Klein. "I'm sure you've played an MMO before where the game is more advanced in certain areas, usually owning to patches or expansions that increase the graphics or character models right?" Klein gave a hesitant nod, still looking confused. "What I'm getting at is that what dictates the 'rules' of a character model is the data that it draws from. A game can't just create something out of thin air like that, it has to be operating off of resources that existed in the first place."

Sinon took her turn to speak up. "So what you're getting at is GGO has always had the capability to have those types of graphics, but they didn't use them for whatever reason – except those enemies are using the code that allows for those graphics to show."

Kirito smiled, "Right."

Dyne blew out a plume of smoke, the light that pointing straight up from the table lighting the smoke in a strange way as he pulled the cigarette from his mouth. "Alright, so let's say that's true. Why would these programs use those graphics? They're not sentient, they have to run off of programming."

Kirito nodded, his expression serious, "There's only a few things I can guess. The developers might have intended for those graphics to be with the game at launch. However, even most games these days with close to realistic graphics have limited gore due to rating restrictions plus outcry from conservative groups who would demonize such a game and effect it's sales. So it's possible that this event somehow got passed up by a patch program meant to change the models to what we currently use."

"It could also be some sort of thing purposely left untouched by a developer or programmer who resented the fact that the intended graphics weren't included." Kirito added as he leaned back into his couch.

"That's a solid theory." Klein spoke, crossing his arms. "But you're relying on the fact that it was intended to be released with the game. What if it was just some rogue developer who snuck it into the game as a joke?"

"That's not right," Sinon spoke, looking towards the Samurai. "Something like this requires a large team effort from multiple artists, 3D graphics designers, programmers, so on and so forth."

Dyne gave a nod, "Your theory is pretty sound kid. But it's lacking evidence to really back it up," he gave a self-depreciating chuckle, catching himself in his old ways, "But not like it really matters of course."

"The Cardinal System."

Everyone looked toward Ginrou, who had been quiet up until then.

"That again?" Dyne asked, taking a draw from his cigarette. "Isn't that the system you were telling us was behind that NPC – what was his name again?"

"Nero, the CEO of the Fuller Corporation remember?" Ginrou replied.

"What?" Kirito spoke, looking at Ginrou, incredulous.

Ginrou put his hands up, feeling a bit weirded out by the wild look on Kirito's face. "Uh. . . Nero, he's the NPC that gave us the quest to hunt down ‹‹The Black Swordsman››. It was generated by the Cardinal System."

Kirito's brown tightened, as he looked back down the coffee table, his brows knitted. He rubbed his closed fist, his mouth set in a grim line.

"Kirito?" Sinon asked, looking concerned, until a moment of clarity struck her. "Wait a minute –!"

"Yeah," Kirito replied, looking up at her, thinking the same thing. Seeing the confused looks, he went on to explain. "It's a long story, so I'll give you the short bit that matters. I followed Siegfried – the Black Swordsman – to the Fuller Corporation's building once. He entered it."

Dyne frowned as he sat forward. "You sure? That building is off access to players." At Kirito's nod, he cursed. He pulled his cigarette out and rubbed the end on the coffee table, before placing it back in the empty carton. "What the hell is going on. . ."

Kirito shook his head slowly. "I don't know, but it's not something to be considered at the moment. But if the Cardinal System is to be blamed behind these mobs, then that's something that worries me. I followed the development blog while GGO was in alpha. The Cardinal System doesn't just generate quests, it governs the _entire _game. If it think there's an imbalance it'll change it on the fly, like if monster respawns are too high, or they're giving too much exp. If a player obtained a bugged weapon it can fix or delete it."

"It can even access the internet and create new and inventive quests with data gathered. Remember how I joked about that thing being a Resident Evil rip off? It's possible the Cardinal System created that monster from ‹‹Tyrant››, it's something that is intended."

"If I had to give it a title to relate it to what it means in this world, I would call it God. It's the omnipotent system that controls every aspect of this world unseen and unheard. And if it's glitching to where it creates a quest using models that bleed, it's not a good sign."

Everyone grew silent at the implication presented to them. No one understood the exact ramifications of just what a system that could be called God malfunctioning was, but it was unsettling.

_And just what does it mean that an NPC from the Fuller Corporation gave a quest to them to kill a player who entered it's building when no one else could? Is this Nero even an NPC? Why would the Cardinal System design a quest given by a CEO to kill a player – something isn't adding up here. _Kirito rubbed his temple, this was getting out of hand.

Then, the lights in the lounge sputtered on, making everyone jump and cover their sensitive eyes. Various cries were shouted out and weapons were drawn. Kirito pointed his Beretta to the doorway – nothing. He carefully moved up to the door, it was still closed like they left it. A single shade was drawn over the window that was on the top half, he reached out and lifted the side of it carefully as he heard the others moving behind them. Nothing was visible in the hallway, but all the lights were on out there too.

"Is the power back on?" Ginrou asked looking around. "I thought you said that everything was cut except emergency power to the doors?"

"It was. Someone turned it back on." Kirito dropped the shade, looking back to the others. "Look, it's obvious something that's way above our heads is going on right now. But we need to focus on getting out of here before anything else." At the nods, he returned it before continuing. "Most of you are either out of ammo or don't even have a gun," he motioned to Klein who had a sheepish look on his face, "There should be a security center somewhere close –"

"Let's go then." Sinon spoke, taking a step forward.

"No." Kirito replied, and continued before she could say anything more, "If more of those NPC soldiers are out there, we'll be sitting ducks in these tight corridors, especially when we wouldn't be able to engage them without running out of ammo."

"So what do you suggest we do?" Dyne asked, irritated. "I still got my ‹‹Mateba››, it's more than enough. And Ginrou has his ‹‹P-90››."

"Then use them to defend everyone here. I''ll go alone and gather up weapons and ammo for us."

"You don't even know if it's there, hell even if it's stocked!" Klein protested, stepping forward with his hands held out. "Kirito, you have to let us come!"

Kirito shook his head. "My ‹‹Stealth›› is my highest skill. I won't get caught." He walked up to Klein, putting his hand on his shoulder, making the older man look surprised. "I know it's a lot to ask – but I need you to trust me."

Klein looked down at Kirito with a troubled expression, "Kirito, you know I trust you, but. . ." having a hard time to find an excuse when Sinon walked up to them both.

"Alright Kirito, we'll trust you." She spoke, giving him a serious look. "Just be quick, if enemies really did get the power back on, they might let that thing into this section by accident or get to us before you do."

Kirito looked at the girl with a hint of surprise, "Sinon. . ." he then gave a smile and serious nod. "I will!" He was then surprised when she held out a closed fist.

"If they don't have any rifle ammo, bring me something nice, okay? Preferably a submachine gun." She spoke. The teen gave her an appreciative smile, and tapped her fist with his.

"You got it."

Dyne sighed, but reached into his coat. "If you're insisting on going alone – take this, it'll come in handy." In his outstretched hand was a round ball shaped weapon with warning labels on it. Kirito recognized it immediately.

"A ‹‹Frag Grenade››? Are you sure, those are kind of –"

"Kid, just take the damn thing. Besides if I used it in here we'd all get blown up. You can return it after if you're that worried about it."

Kirito smiled and nodded, before taking the grenade and putting it on his belt. "We'll see – a grenade is something I rather like to have on hand after all." Reaching up to his chest harness, he unsheathed his ‹‹Mk.3 Navy Knife››, holding it in his left hand in a reverse grip. "I'll be back. If I don't return in twenty minutes, start figuring out an escape plan." At their nods and words of good luck, he turned towards the door.

Taking a deep breath, he opened it and swept both corners before stepping out and closing the door behind him. "Showtime." He whispered to himself.

* * *

><p>Things are getting hot and heavy and I'm cutting loose with the plots! I hope there' not too many threads here for people to follow but trust me, things WILL make sense at the end. Doesn't it always though?<p>

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed, and please, please do give me any and all criticisms you have. That's the stuff that makes each chapter better.

Agent, I hope you enjoyed the little easter egg I nestled in there, a shout out to a certain German swordsman. I couldn't help myself.

Like always everyone, favorite and review!

Until next Time,

Shinobi no Ryu


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